Remnant: Beacon Academy
by ArtC
Summary: Ruby, the academy's colossal nerd, has fallen for one of the most popular students in the academy, Neopolitan. Dealing with learning to become a huntress and the threat of the White Fang and Grimm, can Ruby get Neo to fall for her too? Or will the harsh world of Remnant consume the girl clad in red and black? (Huntress!Neopolitan, Huntress!Cinder, Huntress!Emerald, Hunter!Mercury)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello! This is my second fic for this pairing. I just adore the Cookies and Cream ship!(Ruby x Neo if you haven't figured) Although this story is in the canon RWBY world, some things are or will be altered for the sake of the story such as team SSSN being actual Beacon students instead of Haven. If you see a 'Team CMSN' then that team is composed of Cinder Fall, Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, and Neopolitan. The team name is supposed to sound like 'crimson' but that is the best I can think of given the characters' names. I'm going to try and update this story either on Friday's, Saturday's, or Sunday's. Just a heads up for those of you who want to follow this story. Thanks for reading! Cover photo drawn by myself.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or its characters. All rights go to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.**

**Chapter 1**

"Yang!" Ruby called out to her half-sister. Yang just kept walking down the hallway. "I know you can hear me! You have a smirk on your face don't you?!" Yang still continued to not respond. Ruby narrowed her eyes in suspicion as she watched Yang continue moving down the hallway. Wanting to talk to her sister now, Ruby used her semblance to place herself in front of Yang, leaving rose petals where she previously stood. She took a glance at her sister's face and confirmed her suspicions. "I knew it! You were smirking!"

Yang adopted a huge smile on her face. "Oh hey Ruby! I didn't even notice you!" Yang was trying her best to conceal her laughter. Ultimately, she failed though and bursted out in laughter.

With arms crossed, Ruby waited for Yang to finish laughing. "Yeah right." Ruby responded once her sister was done. "So where are you heading? I didn't even notice you leave our dorm." Ruby inquired, moving to walk by her sister's side.

"I'm going to meet up with Team CMSN. We are going to discuss what we should do for the Academy's dance since we are hosting it." Yang answered.

"You're meeting up with Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, and N...Neo?" the girl clad in her usual red and black attire asked.

"Yeah. Why? You want to see your ice cream crush?" Yang teased Ruby.

A blush worked its way up to Ruby's face. She was flabbergasted by Yang's decision to reveal her crush so loudly. Thankfully for Ruby, no one was in the hallway other than the two of them. That didn't stop her from covering Yang's mouth with her hand though as if someone was listening. "Yang! Don't say that so loudly! What if someone heard?!" Ruby stressed.

Yang shrugged and gently shoved aside Ruby's hand from her mouth. "Come on Rubes, the entire academy essentially knows that you have the biggest crush on Neo. It's no secret. Even Neo already knows herself. Why are you trying to hide it?" Yang announced. Ruby didn't even know the answer herself. She didn't know why she tried to hide something that was already revealed. It just felt natural to Ruby to try and conceal it as if it were a true secret in the first place. Yang didn't receive a response so she just sighed.

"Ms. Long! You still have yet to hear more of my lecture for falling asleep in class! Get over here now so that we may continue! If you don't finish the lesson, I'm going to have to give you detention!" Professor Port demanded from across the hallway.

Yang face palmed. "Crap. I forgot about that. Double crap. I really need to speak with Team CMSN today though." Yang looked around for a way out, but could not find a way to avoid her situation. She decided that she would have to meet up with the other team later. "Hey Rubes. Do me a favor? Can you go and tell Team CMSN that I'll meet up with them at the library at 3:30 later today? They should be hanging out somewhere around the cafeteria building right now."

An explosion of nervousness erupted inside of Ruby, her heart starting to beat as twice as fast. "Me? Why can't someone-"

"Sorry Ruby but I gotta go. I'll catch you later and thanks." Yang interrupted then proceeded to walk towards Professor Port.

"But...but…" Ruby stuttered. When both Yang and the Professor rounded the corner and went out of sight, Ruby stopped her stuttering out of uselessness. Ruby sighed, her sudden nervousness making starting to hurt her insides and almost making her want to throw up. "Off to the cafeteria then." Ruby whispered to herself. She took a deep breath before making her way towards the cafeteria building.

...

"Man, where's Yang? I'm soooo bored." Mercury complained, leaning on his back against the cafeteria building's outer walls.

"When are you ever not bored Mercury?" Emerald asked and complained herself, arms folded across her chest.

"When I have a nice comic book in hand or playing with these babies." Mercury replied and smiled as he lifted up one leg to show off his weapon. Emerald rolled her eyes, dissatisfied with her partner's answer.

"Gods. I just noticed how much you both either complain or argue with each other. You two are like an old married couple. Just kiss and make up why don't you?" Cinder added.

"Oh don't you start Cinder." Emerald stated as she pointed an accusing finger towards Cinder.

Neo stood to the side with a smile, watching her three long-term friends act the way they always act with each other. It wasn't until Emerald would look behind Neo to inform her of a subject that'll make Neo's smile disappear.

A devious smirk grew on Emerald's face. "Hey Neo, it looks like your girlfriend is coming to visit us." she teased.

Neo's smile vanished immediately, already knowing what Emerald was talking about. "Shut up Emerald." Neo closed her eyes as she sighed. "Why can't that nerd understand that I'm not interested. I thought I made that point clear to her last semester." She opened her eyes after she finished complaining.

"Why don't you just tell her you're not interested now?" Cinder asked.

"If the past attempts didn't work, I don't think more attempts won't work either. The girl is persistent." Neo addressed.

"Just shoot the nerd down. Who cares if you hurt her feelings? It's not like you're going to hang out with her anytime in the future." Emerald advised.

"First of all, I'm not an a-hole. Second of all, who knows what Ruby would do? The nerd is super weird." Neo said back. Frustration grew in her head, waiting for what the nerd would do.

Ruby skipped over to the group, taking on a positive behavior. Initially, she dreaded her task to inform the group. Since she could not find a way of her situation however, she decided to embrace it and enter with a bright spirit. "Good morning Neo!"

Neo turned around to face the girl, only to find herself backing up a few steps when she found that Ruby was closer to her than necessary. "Yes Ruby, what do you want?" she inquired.

"You're looking beautiful as always." Ruby complimented.

Neo felt her cheeks redden a little by the compliment, but was able to suppress it soon afterwards. She could hear her friends laughing. "Uhh...thank you Ruby. You're...umm...you look-"

"Super cool?" Ruby cut in as she confidently put up the hood of her red cloak that went well with her usual attire.

"Suuure?" Neo responded, not sure of what to answer.

"So Ruby, did you come over here just to flirt with our friend or is there something else?" Cinder questioned.

"Actually, my sister sent me." Ruby informed the group.

Neo placed a hand over her forehead and shook her head in disapproval. _'Damn it Yang.'_ Neo voiced in her head.

"Yang wanted me to tell you guys to meet up with her in the library at 3:30 later today. She got in trouble with Professor Port or something. I think he mentioned something about falling asleep in class." Ruby continued.

"Well this is a bust. We came here for nothing." Mercury pushed himself off the wall. "I'm heading back to the dorm. What a waste of time." Emerald followed Mercury's lead and was going to head to the dorm too.

"Wait! It doesn't have to be for nothing! We could find something to do together!" Ruby enthusiastically suggested.

"Uhh...no thanks nerd." Mercury responded, quickly dismissing the girl's act of kindness. Both he and Emerald proceeded to leave the vicinity.

Ruby felt a sting in her heart by Mercury's cold response. She pushed it aside though, like she did with every other insult thrown her way. "Neo, what about-"

"Goodbye Ruby." Neo interrupted Ruby. She then left the area too afterward.

Ruby sighed as she watched Neo walking away. Although her attempt to get Neo to hang out with her failed, she would still get something out of it. Ruby watched the delicious sway of Neo's hips, losing focus on everything except for her eye candy.

"Ahem." Cinder sounded, watching the nerd eye-up her friend.

Ruby jumped, completely forgetting one member of Team CMSN still remained. Her cheeks became fully red, embarrassed that someone has seen her action.

Cinder walked up to Ruby and smiled. She patted the younger girl on the shoulder. "Make sure no one is around to see you do your business. K?" Cinder then left the area just like her comrades.

_'Doesn't that make me a stalker though?' _Ruby asked in her mind. She bounced the idea around in her head. _'Meh. Who cares? People already know I'm weird. I'm sure no one would give it a second thought. Besides, it's Neo. How could I not?'_ Ruby smirked, thinking about taking Cinder's advice. She then heard her scroll ringing. Ruby pulled her scroll out of her pocket and saw the caller was Jaune. She answered. "What's up Jaune?"

"Ruby, get on your gaming system and get on Eclipse now! Neptune just earned his full set of raid gear! You have to check it out!" Jaune excitedly informed Ruby.

Ruby gasped. She herself had been trying to earn her full set of raid gear in the game for the past month. "I'm on my way."

**...**

"Wow! I can't believe you Neptune!" Ruby said into her mic in awe as she inspected Neptune's avatar. Jaune, Sun, and Ruby felt jealous of Neptune, who finally received his raid gear. They've all been playing the video game, _Eclipse_, ever since it came out. The four best friends would always plan out when they would go online so that they can cooperatively play missions and strikes. Although they've gone through raids multiple times, they weren't fortunate enough to gain the special equipment of the game. When it came to raids, the four would team up with many other players to accomplish their task. They would have asked other academy students for help, but they were all considered losers and weird by their peers. Ruby was bashed on the hardest though out of the four. Despite that, Ruby remained to have the brightest spirit at the academy.

"You lucky butt, Neptune. You're so lucky." Sun commented on his end of the mic.

"Praise it guys! Praise it!" Neptune yelled in joy. Relief and excitement had previously washed over him when he saw that he received one of the best armors in the game.

"You should give it a test ride in the competitive multiplayer." Jaune proposed.

"Not a bad idea Jaune. Send us all an invite." Neptune accepted.

"Way ahead of you." Jaune notified.

"We only have time for one match. We all have class soon." Ruby warned the group. In the next second, she saw a notification pop-up on her screen, containing an invite to Eclipse by Jaune's username, _Jaune of Arc_. Ruby opened up the notification and tapped the A button on her controller to accept it. Her screen changed and presented her avatar joining the lobby Jaune was hosting. Neptune and Sun had beaten her and were already in the lobby. Ruby watched her username, _Red Hood_, appear under Neptune's, _Sea of Tridents,_ and Sun's, _Sunlight Warrior_.

"Gotcha Ruby. So what mode do you guys want to play?" Jaune asked his closest friends.

"A match of team deathmatch should be good." Sun answered. Ruby and Neptune hummed in approval. Jaune started their search for a match.

To kill time while searching for a match, Neptune questioned his friends about their current status. "So guys, anything interesting going on in your lives right now?"

"Umm...well Cardin hasn't picked on me for a week. That's interesting isn't it?" Jaune responded. Cardin had been the one picking on Jaune ever since they've entered the school. To make matters worse, the entirety of Team CRDL was also filled with jerks and assisted Cardin in making Jaune's life miserable.

"Really? He hasn't bothered you for a whole week? He must be really sick or something of the sort. What about you Sun?" Neptune asked.

"Let's see...ah! Yesterday, I almost got arrested for stealing a banana." Sun simply stated.

"What? Did you really have to steal a banana?" Neptune questioned, a bit disappointed of Sun's action.

"Hey man, I didn't have money on me at the time and I was really hungry. Besides, I didn't realize that the vendor and his family would throw a huge fit over ONE banana's disappearance." Sun voiced.

"Damn it Sun." Neptune sighed. "Well what about you Ruby?"

"Nothing really special is going on for me." Ruby replied.

"Really? Like nothing at all?" Neptune continued questioning her. Ruby answered with a hum of approval. "Come on, there has to be something. What about Neo? How are things going with her?"

"Yeah Ruby, how are things going with her?" Sun chimed in.

"Still nothing. I talked to her earlier but she's still treating me the same way." Ruby informed them.

"Sorry to hear that. Maybe you just have to give it time. She'll eventually have to give you a chance. Now get your head in the game. The match is starting." Jaune informed.

_'Let's do this.'_ Ruby said in her mind.

**...**

"Let's not do this." Ruby said to her friends. Neptune, Jaune, Sun, and herself all had Grimm Studies class together. Their one match had taken longer than they thought, not to mention they completely forgot about the time while they were playing. The four gathered right outside their class door. "The whole class is going to laugh at us when we tell Professor Port why we're late." Ruby warned.

"Then let's just lie." Neptune suggested.

"No! Let's not do that." Ruby stated.

"Why not?" Neptune asked.

"Lying is bad." Ruby answered.

Neptune looked down and shook his head. "Why do you have to be an innocent girl?" he rhetorically asked.

"Innocent? Haven't you forgotten that I killed Grimm before?" Ruby asked, faking a look as if she was insulted.

"The Grimm aren't exactly a living species. I mean, they are living but they don't have souls so they are considered to a point where killing them isn't murder. You get what I mean. If anything, people should kill Grimm whenever possible. I think you still retain your innocence Ruby." Sun said.

"So what are we going to do then? If we're not going to lie then our only options are to either ditch class or tell the truth." Jaune pointed out.

"Ditching is bad too." Ruby stated.

"Yep. Still innocent. You know Ruby, we can't really 'not do this' if you only give us the option that we don't want to take. Guess we are just going to have to tell the truth and take what comes after." Neptune said.

The other three nodded. Jaune moved to open the door. "You guys ready?" The three answered with a nod. Jaune opened the door and the four friends walked inside the room, all eyes on them. Already, people were whispering in their friends ears regarding the four that just entered. Not a single comment was positive.

"So there you four are! What reason did you all come across for being tardy?" Professor Port asked. The four friends looked to each other, seeing who should answer. "We're waiting." Port continued.

Ruby decided to answer for her group. "We got caught up in playing video games." she quickly responded. She could hear snickers sound from the entire class.

Port sighed. "You four are really lucky that you're good students. Just sit in your seats and don't be tardy again." He waved them off.

"Thank you professor." the four stated. As the four moved to their seats, their classmates teased the four. The four ignored all of their peers as usual and got to their seats.

Ruby sat next to Weiss, her partner. "You dunce! I told you to stop playing those video games and focus on our job to become huntresses! I can't believe that a loser such as yourself is leading the team! It should have been me!" Weiss berated the younger girl. Ruby responded with silence, pulling out a notebook and pencil from her backpack. Weiss made a 'Hmph' before returning to write notes in her notebook.

"Ok. Where was I? Oh yes! As I took on the Beowulf on my own, more of its kind showed up and-"

Ruby zoned out Professor Port very quickly, thinking about how she was considered a loser. Ruby herself was always an odd one, always interested in things many others were not. She was smart. She gave herself that. She is always nervous, though she hides that behind a bright, blooming attitude. People have told her that she was awkward, unappealing, and unwanted. The only people that didn't have a single negative look towards Ruby to her own knowledge were her parents, her uncle Qrow, Yang, Jaune, Neptune, Sun, Professor Ozpin, and several teachers at the academy. _'Am I really that bad?'_ Ruby questioned herself. She looked back to Professor Port, tuning back in on his lesson.

"...and so, the Beowolves had me in their grasp! Of course, they stood no chance when I reached out for my weapon and..."

Ruby tuned out the professor again, not wanting to hear more of the gloating. Besides, she already knew most of what was taught in class so it wouldn't do harm to not pay attention for a few classes. Ruby thought back to herself. School was never easy on her in terms of social life. In terms of education however, she was an ace. Ruby was always the one to be picked on. Yang and her parents tried to help her here and there but the younger girl claimed she was fine and could handle herself. After telling that to them multiple times, Yang and her parents heeded Ruby's words. Ruby somewhat stayed true to her word. Despite all the insults given to her almost every day of her life, they seemed to have little effect on the girl. People questioned when the girl would finally reach her breaking point. Sure, there were moments when she would cry herself to sleep, but that was pretty much it. The next day, she would be her bright spirit again. So far, her breaking point has yet to show more hints of appearing.

When Ruby used to go to Signal Academy, she wasn't treated as badly there compared to everywhere else, mainly due to her uncle Qrow's intervention. She even won the respect of some students there when she created Crescent Rose. Her uncle helped her learn how to fight with such a weapon. People could insult Ruby however they want, but if there was something they couldn't insult her about, it would be her weapon and fighting skills with the weapon. Ruby was dependent on her weapon though as her punches and kicks weren't damaging enough to be threatening. Eventually, Ruby was offered to go to Beacon early after she had stopped a dust robbery. There was no way Ruby could turn down such an offer so she took it.

When Ruby first came to Beacon, it was very hard to fit in for two reasons. One, because of her weird interests. Two, being the youngest there since she was accepted early. When she met Jaune, she was ecstatic to find someone just as socially awkward as her. The two became fast friends in a short period of time. When the two first entered the building of the academy, Ruby instantly had her eyes on a girl who had brown and pink hair with white streaks. She didn't know why but she was already interested in the girl. Ruby had told Jaune that she'll meet up with him later before moving to talk to the multicolored hair girl. At first, things were ok between the two, almost as close to forming an actual friendship. However, when other girls in the academy such as Weiss, Emerald, Coco, Blake, and a few others learned of Ruby's weird interests, they gossiped about it. The news spread throughout the academy like wildfire. It wasn't long before the news reached Neo. When Neo had learned of Ruby's weird interests, she was unsure how she felt and looked towards the younger girl. As time went on, Neo became more and more distant to the girl, boosted by her peers warning her to avoid Ruby. It wasn't long before Neo tried to shut out Ruby whenever possible, not wanting to be associated with such an abnormal person.

For a few days, Ruby pursued her goal of making things right with Neo. She tried many times and failed many times. Eventually, it got to a point where Ruby questioned herself about why she cared about Neo so much. After spending a day thinking about it, she realized that she had feelings for the other girl. It was her first crush. She never really cared about relationships before, but something about Neo just made Ruby...attracted. With renewed vigor, the young girl pursued Neo once again, a new goal to go alongside her first one. Her determination would persist to today.

When she and other initiates were sent into the Emerald Forest, Ruby had hoped to gain Neo as a partner so that they could reconcile and maybe become something more, but instead met Weiss first and became stuck as partners. After all the initiates had collected their game pieces, they moved on, taking on and killing a Nevermore and a Death Stalker. Ruby wanted to prove herself and her combat abilities to everyone there, but instead, all of them took the Grimm down together. No displays or acts of heroism, just teams cooperating. When they returned to the academy, many people were surprised that Ruby was chosen as the leader for her team. Weiss and Blake were unhappy with the result but Yang was happy for her sister. Ruby becoming the leader had boosted the girl's confidence significantly, leading as to why she can be such a persistent person despite all the mean and rude insults given to her by mean and rude people. From then on, she met Neptune and Sun, who were also rejects by their peers for some reason. It confused Ruby since the two guys didn't look that bad and that their personalities weren't as weird as either Jaune or herself. Nevertheless, she and Jaune befriended the two.

Ruby always taught herself one thing: That if she treats the world and everyone in it good, she'll eventually be treated the same way. She is genuinely angelic at heart. Ruby has been teaching herself this one lesson ever since she was first bullied in elementary school. She didn't know when all her kindness would pay off, but when it does, she'll be the most grateful person to ever exist in the world of Remnant.

Ruby smiled when she thought about how it would all be worth it in the end. Everyone treating her nice and finally getting together with her crush. Ruby dreamily sighed before writing on her notebook. She wasn't taking notes on Port's lecture through. What she truly was doing was sketching a picture of herself and Neo together. It was another thing her peers saw her weird for, but she didn't care. It made her happy so why should it matter to anyone else? _'One day. One day this will all be worth it. When it comes, I will forever be grateful.'_ Ruby's smile lingered, not a single care currently flowing in her mind as she drew her happiness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"I'll tell you what I told everyone before you, I'm not interested." Neo stated, dismissing another person who asked her out to the dance.

Mercury, who had Dust Studies class with Neo and sat right beside her, chuckled in his seat as the person who attempted to ask out Neo walked away. "So what number was that? Seven right?" Mercury said, keeping count of the people Neo rejected.

"Eight when Ruby gets here." Neo said, annoyance plastered across her face.

"Well aren't we quick to assume?" Mercury joked, knowing Neo was right. "Want me to tell the nerd to back off?" he offered.

Neo heavily considered Mercury's offer. He had the potential to keep Ruby away as long as he was around. Mercury can come across as threatening. He could make Ruby fear coming close to them. Neo eventually came to the conclusion that she wouldn't accept Mercury's offer. As much as she wanted to avoid the girl, she didn't want to harm her in anyway. "Thanks, but no thanks Mercury. I rather deal with her on my own." Neo answered.

Mercury shrugged and relaxed into his seat. "Ok then. Talk to your girlfriend then."

Neo would have punched Mercury in the arm, but the sound of the class laughing caused her to search for the reason why they were laughing. As expected, it was Ruby. She was on the floor, not too far from the door. Neo saw Sky Lark by the door and just saw him retract his leg from the doorway. "You gotta be careful red. How else are you gonna become a huntress?" Sky taunted.

Ruby got up and gathered some of her papers that were spread across the floor. The rest of her papers were picked up by a few other students. "Excuse me, could you please give those back?" Ruby politely asked, a nervous smile on her face.

The students did not respond to Ruby. Instead, they crumpled the papers up and played a game of throwing them into the garbage can from a distance. While Ruby's papers were entering the garbage, one student took a look at the paper he had in his hands. "Hey Neo!" the student called out. Neo looked at him displaying the paper to her. It was a drawing of herself and Ruby back-to-back. "Add this to the collection!"

Neo rested her forehead on her desk, embarrassed and annoyed. She could hear Mercury laughing hard right next to her. _'Why do you do this to me Ruby? Just leave me alone already.'_ Neo complained in her head.

"H...hey! Give that back!" Ruby exclaimed, trying to retrieve her drawing from the much taller student. The student shoved her onto the floor.

"Fight for it red." the student taunted. Ruby got up and would've lunged for her drawing, but Sky came up behind her and wrapped one arm around her neck, slightly choking her.

"Yeah red. Fight for it." Sky joined in.

"No. I only fight bad guys and Grimm. You're my allies." Ruby said through gritted teeth. The student holding her drawing dangled said drawing in front of Ruby's face, taunting her with it. The young girl tried to become from free from Sky's hold and also attempted to grab her paper again, with no success.

"RELEASE THE GIRL!" the teacher yelled out. Sky let go of Ruby and the other student dropped the paper. "YOU TWO, REPORT TO GLYNDA GOODWITCH RIGHT NOW!" the teacher commanded.

As Ruby reached out for her drawing, Sky purposely stepped on it before exiting the classroom. Ruby picked up the drawing and sadly glanced at the shoe mark on it. Ruby sighed and proceeded to gather her papers from the garbage can. The teacher walked over and checked on Ruby. Once more, Ruby informed the teacher that she was fine and it was nothing to worry about. The teacher was disappointed in the girl for not asking for help, but she knew how her student was. Ruby was a persistent girl. No one could make her budge on the topic of any matter.

"Ok Ruby. Head to your seat and please, if you ever need help, just talk to me or the other teachers." the teacher said.

"Got it miss." Ruby said with a salute.

The teacher nodded and faced the rest of the class. "Alright class, I'm going to get straight to assigning your projects in a minute."

Ruby moved to her seat at the front of the room. When she sat down, she looked back and shyly waved to Neo. Neo waved her hand only once to just get it out of the way. Her simple gesture was enough to bring back a smile to Ruby's face. The young girl faced back towards the front of the classroom, patiently waiting for the teacher to assign the project.

"I hope you all have been studying at home like I said last class. For this project, you and a partner are going to research a specific type of dust and then you'll both do an experiment with it. Each pair will only get two dust crystals. You will have time to research and experiment in class for the next few days but I highly recommend you do work at home too. Before all of you do anything, I will be the one picking your partners so listen for your name." the teacher said.

"Damn. I was going to choose you. Well, I really hope I don't get paired with that loser." Mercury whispered to Neo. Neo nodded in response. She thought about it though. Ruby was a loser, but she was a smart loser. Whoever gets her as a partner would probably have an easier time with the project. That didn't mean though that people would take her as a partner. Everyone there would rather do the actual work than pair up with Ruby.

"-and Dutch. Ren and Mercury. The last team is Ruby and Neo." the teacher concluded.

Neo's heart stopped beating as she sat up, wide eyed. _'Oh no.'_ Everyone in class glanced at Neo, wanting see how the girl would react. Some were chuckling and others had an apologetic look. Neo didn't have to look at Ruby to see her expression as she already knew that Ruby had a wide grin on her face. Neo had the exact opposite. She would have to spend time with Ruby as dust experimenting was something to not be done alone. Neo dragged a hand down her face in dread. Throughout the whole class, Neo thought about how things would be with Ruby and the project until class had actually ended. As soon as it ended, the students exited as quickly as they could.

The teacher handed the teams their crystals as they exited. "Exercise caution students." she warned each passing team

"I'm going with Ren. I'll see you and the others at the library. Have fun with your girlfriend." Mercury stated as he started to walk down the hallway alongside Ren. Neo walked in the other direction, hoping to avoid Ruby.

"Neo! Hey Neo!" Ruby said called out to Neo, running up to Neo's side then walking alongside her. Neo said nothing, still walking and Ruby keeping up with her. "So...I was thinking y...you could come over to m...my dorm for the project. We could also go to y...your dorm if you w...want." Ruby suggested, stuttering a bit.

Neo stopped in her tracks. "Listen up Rose. I don't want to be seen publicly with you. I don't my team or your team to see us together. We'll go to my house in the since it's secluded from our peers. This does not mean I'm ok with you. This is strictly for our class work. If we are not working together on something, then stay away from me, don't talk to me, and especially don't draw pictures of us together. We will have absolutely no contact with each other after this. Got it?" Neo spoke authoritatively.

"The project part, yes. Why don't you want to hang out with me though?" Ruby inquired.

"Because you're you Ruby. Listen, I've worked hard to be respected by mostly everyone. I've overcame most of my problems through a lot of effort. I will not let all of that crumble because of you. You may be used to being disrespected, but many others are not. You being around brings misfortune to everyone else." Neo expressed. Her words came out harsher than what she meant them to be.

Ruby slightly winced at Neo's words. "O...ok. I...I understand." Ruby said, her head looking downward. "B...bye Neo." Ruby started to move ahead, walking away from her crush.

Neo felt a twinge of guilt. _'What the hell was that Neo? The girl didn't deserve that.'_ she berated herself. Neo took a deep breath. "Wait, Ruby." she called out, eyes closed.

Ruby stopped and turned to face Neo. "Y...yeah Neo?"

Neo sighed and opened her eyes. "Meet me tomorrow by the statue after all our classes. We'll head to my house and start our project."

Ruby had a gentle smile form on her face. "Ok Neo. You got it." The girl happily skipped down the hallway and out of Neo's sight.

Neo felt some guilt relieved off of her but dread quickly took its place. _'Just do the work. It'll all be over quickly. I can put up with her for a few days. I can do this.'_ she encouraged herself. _'Ok, only an hour to kill before meeting up with the others at the library.'_ Neo pulled out her scroll and dialed for home. She leaned against the wall and crossed her legs as she listened to her scroll ringing.

"Hello?" a woman answered.

"Hi mom." Neo answered with great gentleness.

"Neo! How are you doing? Is everything alright?" her mom asked.

Neo gave a small chuckle. "Everything is fine mom. Listen, I'm coming over tomorrow along with a partner. We are going to work on our project over there."

"You're coming over? That's great! I'll make sure the house is clean for your friend! What's your friend's name?" her mom excited responded.

"Actually, my partner is just an acquaintance. Her name is Ruby. Ruby Rose." Neo answered.

"Aww, what an adorable name! I can't wait to meet her! Anyways, you probably have more important things to do than talk with me. You know, with all your huntress business and training." her mom responded.

"No! I am not busy at all! Besides, I'll always have time to talk with you mom." Neo spoke.

"It's nice to hear you're still my sweet daughter. Do you want to talk to your father or your brother, Roman?" her mom offered.

"No thanks. I'll talk to them when I come over tomorrow." Neo said.

"So tell me more about this Ruby girl." her mom said.

_'Oh gods.'_ Neo whined in her head.

...

_Thirty Minutes Later_

"Ok mom. I love you too. K, bye." Neo hung up the call and slid her scroll back into her pocket. Neo herself slid down against the wall, sitting herself on the floor. She spent a lot of time telling her mom about the type of person Ruby was. For some reason, her mom seemed to tolerate Ruby's weird interests. She still had a good half an hour to kill so she reflected on her life, knowing everyone besides Ruby would not be available to hang out with.

Neo came from a wealthy family. She was born with many privileges along with Roman. For some reason though, she was born with a pink colored eye and a brown colored eye. Alongside that, her hair consisted of being half brown and half pink with white streaks in the pink half. It was weird, considering her mom, Vanilla, had brown hair and her father, Titian, had orange hair. No one had an idea why Neo's appearance differed from both Vanilla and Titian. People theorized that it was a mutation in the genes. Regardless, the married couple were happy to have a daughter. The couple loved their two children with all their heart. They wanted to make sure they secured their children's happiness. The two kids grew to love their parents and never took what their parents did for granted.

Neo loved spending time with her brother. Roman himself liked to play with his sister. The two would always spend time together when they were younger, playing with toys, playing at the playground, walking in the park, playing video games, and more. It was a brother-sister relationship for many others to be jealous of. Roman was very protective of his sister, not wanting to see someone he cares deeply about be harmed in anyway. As the two grew older, they did less things with each other, life taking up their schedules. Despite that, their bond was never altered, just as strong as it was when they were young. Whenever the family had a chance to spend time together, the two would jump at the chance. Neo looked forward to seeing her brother again tomorrow, though she would have to make sure Ruby doesn't mess things up.

When Neo first attended school, she was mocked, harassed, and insulted for her appearance. However, three people with the names: Mercury, Emerald, and Cinder saw the girl differently. In their eyes, Neo looked pretty cool. The three invited her to spend time with them during lunch. No one how it happened, but the four got along well just fine, becoming best friends within months. Later, with the help of her new friends, she stood up for herself. She stood against overwhelming odds, surprising everyone when it seemed like she was winning. For a large portion of her school life, she spent a long battle of standing against her bullies and earning respect amongst her peers. When she actually did win with the odds against her favor, she earned the respect she fought so hard for. She would do that to every school she went to, increasingly becoming popular each grade. Her bullies turned into admirers and friends. People respected the way Neo handled things, mainly keeping her situation peaceful. All of that effort would not be put to waste by one girl who had black hair with a red tint.

Neo wanted to become a huntress, inspired when she saw some actual hunters work in action. Neo, along with her three best friends, went to Sanctum Academy to learn such a line of work. When she was in Sanctum, she had no idea how she was going to become a hunter. She didn't know how she would fight or what weapon she would make. She had trouble in the academy at first, to the point where she was almost kicked out for her inability to learn and decide. It was around that time when she started to deal with her newfound power.

At first, Neo feared the power she wielded. She didn't know how to control it. People around her feared her. She unwilling casted illusions upon people, causing some harm when the victims were affected. Neo didn't want to hurt anyone anymore so she began to shut herself out from the rest of the world. Her parents and friends tried so hard to convince the girl that she could control it and there was nothing to fear. Their attempts ultimately failed and left them depressed for a time. It wasn't until Roman almost gave his life to save his sister. When Neo ran away, Roman tracked the girl down to an abandoned factory. When he stepped inside, he found that his sister had converted the interior of the factory into an illusionary room of glass full of her greatest fears. Roman was in shock, wondering how powerful Neo's power could actually be. The worse thing though was that the monstrous glass illusions could actually cause harm. Using his Melodic Cudgel he created when he used to be at Sanctum to fight off the illusions, he fought his way to his sister. As he progressed through the room, he gained multiple wounds by the illusions. When he finally reached his sister, the two had a vocal conflict. It took grueling minutes, Roman having to fend off the illusions while talking to his sister. Eventually, the room shattered into many pieces of glass when Neo had finally given up. Roman quickly sheltered Neo with his own body as the glass fell upon them.

The two survived, but Roman was badly wounded, small pieces of glass impaled most of his body. Neo realized what she had done and immediately took Roman to their parents to be taken to the hospital. Roman was quickly treated by the members of the hospital, but the injuries inflicted on him left with many scars and the inability to do anything for a while. He spent months inside the hospital, his family visiting every day. Neo would always sit by his bedside, continuously apologizing. She begged for forgiveness from her brother. Roman smiled and accepted his sister's apologies on a certain condition, to not fear her power and learn to control it. Neo immediately agreed and gently hugged her loving brother. She would come by the hospital every day to visit her brother after school, learning to control her power at the same time. Mercury, Emerald, and Cinder visited Roman a few times alongside Neo. When Roman was released, he spent months regaining his physical strength and form until he was just as good as new, but with multiple scars.

Neo kept her side of the agreement. She learned how to use her power after much practice. When she knew she had full control, she incorporated it into her fighting style. With her power and her new weapon that she created, an umbrella/parasol that could deflect projectiles and an estoc type of weapon sheathed within it, she became a huntress in training to be reckoned with. She dominated the battle competitions the academy had. Before Neo and her friends' graduation, they had been invited to Beacon Academy. Their families saw it as a nice opportunity. After the four friends graduated from Sanctum, their families moved to Vale so that the four could have easier access to attend Beacon. From then on, Neo's experience at the school was a great one except for a specific girl.

Neo checked her scroll and realized it was almost time to meet at the library. She stood up and proceeded towards the library.

...

"Hey Yang, did you know that your sister got paired up with Neo for the Dust Studies's project?" Mercury informed Yang, the two meeting up early.

"Really? Ruby must be so excited! I imagine Neo is the complete opposite?" Yang said.

"Correct. Man Yang, you should have seen Neo's face. It was priceless! I would actually go back in time and redo the class again just to see her face again!" Mercury spoke.

"I just hope the two being paired up doesn't ignite anything bad. I don't want to see them hurt." Yang expressed.

"I don't know Yang. You know how Neo feels about Ruby. You know how we all feel about Ruby. Sorry Yang but Ruby is too weird and you know that. She isn't going to make friends with anybody other than those other losers. If you don't want your sister to be a reject, talk to her or something and-"

"And what?! Tell her to change who she is?!" Yang could not take Mercury's low opinion of her half-sister any longer, her eyes taking on a red color. "I will not! I don't care how weird she is! She'll always have my support! You're supposed to be my friend Mercury! How could you say that about Ruby?!"

"Shush!" Multiple people around them sounded. Yang gave them only one look before those people regretted their decision. They went back to doing their own things, deciding that they would have to just deal with the disruptions.

Mercury was taken aback by Yang's anger. It wasn't the first time their friends and himself had talked poorly of Ruby in front of Yang. He questioned it, but he decided it was best to not fuel the flames. "Ok Yang. I'm sorry and I'll shut up. You can't deny it though. She won't gain any popularity with the way she is now. Sorry Yang but it's the truth."

Yang calmed down, her eyes reverting back to its original color. _'I know it's the truth, but how could I do that to Ruby? I want her to be accepted but I don't want her to change just because of that.'_ Yang said in her thoughts.

Neo joins the two, finding them easily when she heard Yang yelling when she entered the library. "Yang? Why were you yelling?"

Yang took a glance towards Mercury before looking back to Neo. "I know that you're partnered with Ruby. I don't know what you two are going to do on the matter, but I beg of you to give her a chance. Please. I live with her and I know how she is like. She isn't bad at all. She just needs a chance."

"Yang, you do realize what you're asking for right? It wouldn't be too much of a problem if the girl didn't have a freaking crush on me. That and her weirdness mixed together, I won't be able to handle it. Also, you know how people view her. Anyone associated with her are going to be looked on negatively too. Sun and Neptune for example. The two would have been cool, but when they befriended Ruby, no one wanted to do anything with them. I don't want that Yang. I've worked hard earning the respect I have now. The second I try to befriend the girl, I'm going to lose all of that. Sorry Yang but I won't do anything with her other than work strictly."

"What about me, Weiss, and Blake? We are associated with her." Yang questioned.

"You three were given passes. For Weiss and Blake, it's because they aren't too fond of Ruby and that they didn't choose to be a part of Team RWBY. For you Yang, it's because she's your half-sister. That and also people think that you're cool and they fear you." Mercury answered.

"Maybe if you all gave her an actual chance, she wouldn't be so bad! What about you Neo? Remember when you first met Ruby? When you didn't know of her weird interests? You two were getting along so well together. The two of you looked like best friends. I've never seen Ruby so happy when she was with you. You even looked happy yourself." Yang gently placed a hand on Neo's shoulder. "Are you really going to throw that away because of reputation and interests?"

"Sorry Yang, but it's a lot more complicated than you think it is. I can't. I'm sorry." Neo sighed. "However Yang, I'll try to be nice to her when we work on the project. When that is over, don't expect anything else." Neo said.

Yang looked a bit disappointed. "Alright. I don't want to force you into anything. I just...just want people to accept Ruby for who she is." A tear flowed from Yang's eyes. Both Neo and Mercury sat Yang down on a nearby chair and patted her on the back

The friends remained silent until they were joined by Cinder and Emerald. When the two girls saw a saddened Yang, they immediately rushed over to give their support. "Yang? What's wrong?" Cinder asked.

"N...nothing. It's fine. I don't want to talk about it anymore." Yang responded.

"Are you sure?" Emerald asked. Yang nodded. "Do you need time? We can probably talk about the dance later." Emerald offered.

"No, no." Yang stood up, wiping away her one tear. "We are going to make the dance the best it can be. It'll be a great time to relax before everyone starts training hard for the tournament."

"Sounds good." Cinder said.

**A/N: Just wanted to tell all of those who are following, I thank you for your support. I want to let you know that I will never give up on stories I have posted and will see them through to the very end. That's a promise. Reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Hey Ruby, you helping us on the strike mission today?" Jaune queried. The two had just finished their last class of the day.

"Sorry Jaune but I have a project to work on with Neo." Ruby replied.

"Whoa! You're working with Neo? How'd you manage that?" Jaune asked with great wonder.

"My Dust Studies teacher assigned us together as a team. I'm going to meet up with her soon. I hope you and the others don't mind." Ruby said.

"Don't mind? Of course we won't! I'm sure this is an opportunity that you accepted in an instant. I'll let Sun and Neptune know that you won't be joining us. You have fun now Ruby." Jaune said, proceeding to depart.

"Bye Jaune!" Ruby enthusiastically waved goodbye. She began running towards her dorm, wanting to prepare herself quickly so that she could meet Neo as soon as possible. She encountered her Faunus team member right outside their door. Ruby ran past her and to the door. "Hi Blake!" Ruby greeted as she began opening her dorm's door.

"What are you in a hurry for?" Blake asked.

"Just need to hurry getting ready and meet up with my partner for a project. Well goodbye Blake!" Ruby said as she entered the dorm and closed the door behind her.

Blake only shrugged. With Ruby, Blake taught herself to not question the younger girl's intentions or actions. It was much easier that way. Blake didn't like her leader, but didn't hate her either. She mainly just associates herself with Ruby as only a teammate, nothing else. Blake continued walking down the hallway. When she rounded a corner, she bumped into someone, causing her to fall on her back. She looked up only to find someone that she could not tolerate.

"Are you ok?" Sun asked in concern, extending his hand out to Blake to help her up.

Blake pushed his hand aside and stood up herself. "I'm fine." Blake stated, a hint of annoyance in her tone.

As Blake dusted off her outfit, Sun nervously scratched the back of his head. Normally, he was always as cool as a cucumber, not letting nervousness of fear take over. However, there was just something about the Faunus girl in front of him that made him just a mess on the inside. Still, he tries to play it cool around Blake. "So I hear that there's this dance coming up that's being hosted by Yang and Team CMSN, and it sounds pretty lame, but you and me, I'm thinking, not as lame, huh?"

"What?" Blake inquired, her annoyance seeming less subtle.

"The dance! Later in the month! You wanna go, or what?" Sun asked.

Blake sighed. "You may be someone that a lot of people don't want to deal with, but you helped me at the pier against the White Fang. I'm thankful for that. I'm disappointed in you though. I don't have time for a stupid dance. I thought you of all people would get that." Blake voiced before continuing on with her path, leaving a saddened Sun behind.

Neptune watched Blake move down the hallway as she passed by him. He had been there watching the two, ready to comfort his friend in case things went wrong. Neptune walked up to his buddy. "Man that was rough. Sorry bro. Do you need anything?" he offered.

Sun sighed. "This whole popularity thing is stupid. It's stupid how we are being treated like crap because we befriended Ruby and Jaune."

"Are you saying that you wish you never met them?" Neptune inquired.

"Of course not! Those two are awesome! I don't see how they can just be ignored by society. It's stupid." Sun leaned his back against the wall. "Back to Blake, I just wish she would relax about the White Fang business. I know they are a threat and all but Blake is taking this way too seriously. I worry about her health. This isn't healthy for her." he expressed.

"If you want her to stop worrying about it, then why don't we do our own research and assist her?" Neptune suggested.

"You think that'll work?" Sun asked.

"I think it's worth a shot. The faster we solve the issue, the faster we can get Blake to relax." Neptune claimed.

"Sure, why not? Wanna get Ruby and Jaune on this?" Just as fate would have it, Jaune called Sun's scroll. "Would you look at that?" Sun answered the call, putting it on speaker so Neptune could also hear. "What's up Jaune?"

"Hey Sun. I wanted to tell you and Neptune that Ruby isn't joining us on the strike today. Apparently she has a project to work on with Neo. Can you believe it?"

"Well there's your answer for Ruby." Neptune commented. "Actually Jaune, change of plans. Sun and I are going to track down the White Fang. Want to join us?"

"Well, seeing that I have no one else to hang out with, sure." Jaune accepted.

"Great! Meet us outside the cafeteria." Neptune instructed.

Sun ended the call. "Come on! Let's get going!" Sun excitedly yelled.

"Someone's eager. Hoping to win over Blake's feelings when you tell her we found the source of her troubles?" Neptune rhetorically asked.

"What? Don't pretend like you don't want to impress Weiss too." Sun blurted.

"H...hey man! Don't say that out loud." Neptune's face reddened a little. Sun chuckled as the two went to go meet up with their blonde friend.

...

_Fifteen Minutes Later_

Ruby stood next to the statue, patiently waiting for her multi-colored partner. She had her cloak's hood up, shielding her head from the slight wind. Her cape flowed a bit freely, looking as majestic as it could. She was pleasantly surprised than none of her peers had messed with her as she waited. Most of them passed by her without paying her any attention. The few who did quickly redirected their attention elsewhere. _'This day is going to be great!'_ Ruby praised in her head.

A person stood beside Ruby a few seconds after. The figure was wearing a white hoodie, the hood pulled way over the person's head, concealing the face. The person had black gloves, black pants, and black and white shoes. "Psst, Ruby. It's Neo. You ready? The airship should be coming by in a few minutes." Neo whispered.

"Neo? Why are you hiding your face underneath that hood? I can't appreciate how pretty you are." Ruby accidentally complimented while whispering too.

"I only have to hide it until we get to the city where no one will know who we are. B...but thanks." Neo stated, her expression still disguised. The two waited for the airship to come by. When it did, the two boarded the ship along with a few other people who also wanted to go to the city.

It took a several more minutes until the airship dropped off all its passengers at the city. "Are we walking to your house?" Ruby questioned as they stepped off the vehicle.

"Nah. I called my brother earlier. He's going to pick us up. He should be here very soon." Neo informed her.

"You have a brother? I didn't know that." Ruby responded.

"Well now you know. He is the best. He's the reason I'm in my position right now. Attending Beacon, controlling my semblance, my love for my family. He made everything so enjoyable for me. I'm sure you'll like him." Neo stated as she removed her hood, having no reason to keep it up now.

Ruby smiled. Not only was Neo being nicer since none of their friends or fellow students were around, it was nice to hear Neo talk about her family. "I'm sure I will." Ruby patted her backpack. "So yeah. I have our two dust crystals in my bag. I borrowed some containers from Weiss to make sure the crystals were safe."

"Good. I'm glad to see you take safety precautions over this. Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought." Neo said.

After five minutes had passed, Roman drove up to the pair with his car. Neo took the passenger seat in front and Ruby sat in the back. "Hey Neo. It's nice to see you again." Roman calmly greeted.

"It's nice to see you too Roman." Neo greeted back.

Roman turned his head and body to face the passenger in the back seat of his car. "I believe your name is Ruby?"

"Yep. That's me." Ruby answered.

"Well then, it's nice to meet you. I presume Neo informed you about me?" Roman asked as he extended out a hand to Ruby.

Ruby shook Roman's hand. "Kind of. She just told me about you only a few minutes ago. The way she was talking about you though made you sound like a hero to her."

Roman smiled. "That's what I was aiming for." He started to drive towards the house. The ride was silent between the three at first other than the music that was playing on the radio. Neo took the opportunity to rest and replenish her energy. Ruby stared out the window, admiring the life that was flowing from within the city. The car they were in stopped at a red traffic light. Roman looked at Neo to make sure she was asleep. Once he confirmed it, he spoke to Ruby. "So Ruby, I heard you are quite an...how do I put this...an interesting girl from Neo."

"Oh. She...uh...told you about me?" Ruby replied.

"Yep. Tell me Ruby, how are you treated at school? How does Neo treat you at school? Be honest with me Ruby. I don't discriminate." Roman questioned.

"I admit that people don't accept me. In fact, there are only around like ten people who don't mind what I like and my behavior. A lot of them give me a hard time. Those who don't just stand by and watch. I'm sorry to say this but your sister is amongst them who just stand by and watch. It's ok though. I don't let their mean acts get the better of me. I just gotta stay positive. It'll all be worth it." Ruby admitted.

Roman looked at his sleeping sister with some disappointment plastered on his face. "I'm sorry to hear that. It's incredible how your standing above it though. I know a lot of people who don't take kindly to discrimination."

"Yeah. I can understand that. Like members of the White Fang." Ruby stated, relaxing into the leather cushioning of her seat.

"Right." Roman responded. The traffic light turned green and Roman was back to driving. "So Ruby, from what I heard from Neo, is it true that you have a crush on my sister?"

Ruby's face reddened as she sat up to a higher elevation on her seat, not sure that answering Roman would make her situation better or worse. "I...uhh...I don't...I mean...I do but...wait, no...I..."

Roman chuckled. "Yep. You definitely have a crush on my sister."

"You're not mad? Or disgusted?" Ruby inquired.

"Of course not. It's normal for girls to like other girls. Besides, I don't blame you for liking my sister. She has a unique look doesn't she? My sister may not know this, but there were actually a lot of people who also had a crush on her. They all were bad influences though so I just confronted all of them first. They learned that they would have no chance with Neo with me around." Roman declared.

"Really? Wh...what do you think about me?" Ruby inquired, leaning forward from her seat now.

"Hmm. Well, we just met so I can't exactly come to a conclusion. You seem like a good person so far though. You definitely lasted the good person image a lot longer than anyone I ever confronted did." Roman answered her.

Silence ensued again afterwards. Ruby also took the opportunity to rest as she waited. Roman listened to the peaceful breathing of the two sleeping people in his car. It was calming to him. Within ten minutes, they arrived at the house. "Wake up sleeping beauties." Roman ordered. The two girls did wake up, rubbing their eyes to rid themselves of their grogginess. The three stepped out of the car and up the to the front door. Roman pulled out a set of keys and opened the door for all of them. When they stepped inside, they were greeted by Vanilla.

"Neo! Roman! It's so good to all be together again! I love you both so much!" she excitedly exclaimed as she hugged her two children tight.

"Love you too mom." Roman and Neo said as they hugged their mom back.

Ruby watched the three, her heart warned by the act of family love that occurred right in front of her. When Vanilla finally released her hold on her children, she noticed the girl dressed in black and red attire. "Is this the Ruby Rose you've told me about?" Vanilla asked her daughter.

"That's the one." Neo simply answered.

Vanilla picked up Ruby and held her in a tight hug now. "Oh you are just adorable! You're like a stuffed animal that I can just hug forever!"

"That's...great." Ruby uttered through a breathless voice, being choked by the hug.

"Uh...mom, maybe you should release my partner before you crush her to death." Neo suggested.

Vanilla realized she was suffocating the young girl so she put her down. "Oh sorry dear! I just couldn't resist!" she apologized.

"It's alright. My mom does it to me all the time. No need to worry miss..."

"You can just call me Vanilla. It's a pleasure to meet you Ruby Rose." Vanilla introduced.

"The pleasure is mine. Ruby is just fine by the way." Ruby replied.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Vanilla turned to her daughter. "Your dad wants to talk with you before you start on your project."

"Ok." Neo faced Ruby. "Why don't you get started? Set up our stuff in the living room. I'll meet up with you as soon as possible." Neo instructed as she handed her bag to Ruby. She then proceeded to walk somewhere into the house along with Vanilla.

"Umm...where's the living room?" Ruby sought an answer from Roman.

"Come on. I'll show you where it is." Roman gestured with his arm for Ruby to follow him. Ruby followed after Roman, admiring the interior of the house. There were a lot of decorations and all of it looked like it cost a fortune. "Here it is." Roman said as they entered the large living room. "Place your things wherever you want. Do you need anything before I leave you to your work?" he offered.

"I'm good. Thanks." Ruby replied.

"Ok. If you need anything, I'll be in the room close by." Roman notified Ruby, pointing at a connecting room.

Ruby nodded and Roman entered the other room. Ruby walked over to the coffee table that was at the center of the living room. She set down Neo's bag and hers next to it and sat down beside it. She dug into her bag, pulling out her binder, a notebook, pencils, and the containers holding the dust crystals. She set the items on top of the table. She started writing inside her notebook, already having a good deal of knowledge about her given crystals. She also wrote a description of the crystals' appearance and the effects it could cause. By the time Neo returned, Ruby had already jotted down a page and a half of information.

"Sorry it took me so long. My father just really likes talking." Neo said as her excuse as she entered the living room. Neo was genuinely surprised when she saw how much work Ruby had already done. "Wow Ruby. I knew you were smart and all, but I didn't realize how much you can get done in less than ten minutes."

"I'm full of surprises." Ruby gloated.

"That you are." Neo sat beside Ruby. "Let me see what you have so far." Neo said. Ruby handed her notebook to Neo, who quickly skimmed its contents. "You're sure all of this is correct?"

"Neo, I'm not a nerd for nothing. I have yet to ever fail or score just an average." Ruby continued to gloat.

"Fair point. Well then, since you already did a good portion of the facts, why don't we see how we should experiment with these." Neo suggested.

"Sure thing." Ruby happily responded.

...

_Two Hours Later_

Ruby and Neo were finished with their project for the day. The two got work done that would have taken anyone else a couple of days to do. The pair were the top students in their classes so it made sense for them to almost finish a project in a day despite being given about a week to complete it. Neo had kept her word to Yang that she would treat Ruby nicely over the project duration.

"So you want to come here again tomorrow to finish the project?" Neo offered.

"Sure!" Ruby excitedly accepted. She had been drowning in happiness ever since they started working on the project. _'Why does Neo not treat me coldly now?'_ Ruby wondered. She wanted an answer and right now was the best opportunity to get that answer. "Hey, Neo?"

Neo yawned. "What's up Ruby?"

"How come you don't treat me like how you do when we are with others. Are you really that embarrassed of me?" Ruby questioned.

"I figured you would ask that eventually. Listen Ruby, you're a very kind of person. I know I sometimes treat you like crap. It's just that the way you are, most of society rejects you because of it. If I'm with you, society will reject me too. I'm not telling you to change though." Neo responded.

"So do you hate me then?" Ruby asked.

"What? Of course I don't hate you! Sure, you frustrate me sometimes, but I could never hate you." Neo sighed. "I don't hate you Ruby. It's just that I don't want to go through what you're going through, again. I hope you understand."

_'Again? You mean, Neo's been through what I'm going through right now?'_ Ruby questioned in her head. "I understand Neo. Don't expect me to give up on you though." Ruby said with a smile. Neo smiled and rolled her eyes. "Umm...where's the bathroom?" Ruby questioned.

"Down the hall and it's the second door on the left." Neo answered.

"Thanks!" Ruby replied, already up and running towards the bathroom.

With Neo left alone, she held her head in her hands. _'Damn it. She's growing on you.' _Neo thought to herself. _'How could I not? She's innocent and sweet.' _Another part of her mind countered. Neo couldn't deny it, Ruby was starting to win. If she lets Ruby grow on her, it'll end up in two results. The first one, she'll end up hurting both herself and Ruby when she tries to keep themselves apart. The second one, she'll accept Ruby, but lose all respect from her peers and lose the war she had been fighting for so long. One way or the other, she'll be the one to suffer negatives. Neo spent a minute thinking about what to do.

"Where's Ruby?" Roman asked as he entered from the adjacent room.

"She went to use the bathroom." Neo notified.

Roman nodded and took a seat at the couch. "So how's my little sister doing?"

"I'm doing fine. Everything is fine for me besides a few bumps here and there. How about you? " Neo responded.

"I'm just about the same. My work is being a bit rough but I get by." Roman answered. Ruby re-entered the living room, taking a seat on a chair next to the couch Roman was sitting on. Just then, Roman had a phone call. He looked at the caller ID. He answered. "What's up? Wait what?" Roman listened to the person on the other head. "Are you being serious?" Roman listened again. "You gotta be kidding me!" Roman suddenly raised his voice as he stood up in anger. He furiously hung up and threw his phone on the couch, the cushions preventing the phone from breaking.

"Roman? Are you ok?" Neo queried in her concern. Ruby looked startled by Roman's sudden outburst of anger.

"Sorry you girls had to see that. I just got a call from work and they need me because my co-worker didn't show up to do his job. Sorry Neo but I can't stay for dinner. I'm so sorry." Roman apologized.

"No it's ok. Take care Roman and be safe." Neo stood up and hugged her brother.

"I will. You do the same." Roman hugged back. He then moved towards Ruby after the he broke the hug with his sibling. "It was nice meeting you Ruby. I hope we meet again."

"It was nice to meet you too. I'm sure we'll be encountering each other again in no time." Ruby said back.

"Looking forward to it. Bye girls." Roman departed, leaving the room.

The two girls were left alone in the room, Neo taking Roman's former spot on the couch. Ruby however, moved from her seat and next to Neo, scooting over closer than necessary. "R...Ruby?"

"I said I wouldn't give up on you didn't I?" Ruby rhetorically asked, creeping her hand up to Neo's hand.

Neo though was in shock. She didn't know what to do. Her mind was boggled. _'D...do I really want this?'_ Neo asked herself. Her lack of resisting actions seemed to be answering for her. She looked down to their now intertwined hands. Neo now looked up, staring into Ruby's silver eyes and getting entranced in them.

"Hi." Ruby said with a comforting smile.

"Hi." Neo responded back, eyes wide with anticipation._ 'O...one little kiss shouldn't hurt right?'_ Neo thought. She moved her head a little closer to Ruby's and Ruby's head to Neo's.

"Where's Roman?" Vanilla interrupted as she entered the room, causing both Neo and Ruby to jump back.

"He had to leave because a call from work. He won't be joining us." Neo told her mother.

"Aw, what a shame. Dinner was almost ready too. Well this disappointing. Well since we have an extra seat, would you like to join us Ruby?" Vanilla presented.

"I don't know. I don't want to be a bother." Ruby said.

"A bother? Of course you won't be a bother. Come! Find a seat at the dining table!" Vanilla exclaimed as she walked towards presumably the dining room.

"Come on Ruby. There's no harm in staying to have a bite." Neo said as she followed after her mom. Ruby followed the two now, hoping there would be some cookies for dessert.

...

_One Hour Later_

"Dude, call the others." Sun said to Jaune, lightly slapping Jaune's shoulder.

"I'm trying man! I don't think anyone wants to pick up a call from me." Jaune refuted.

"Just keep calling, they'll have to answer eventually." Neptune suggested, arms crossed as he peered around the alleyway corner to check and see if anyone was listening on them.

"Let me try calling Ruby." Jaune scrolled through his scroll until he found Ruby's name. He pressed the call button and held the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?" Ruby answered.

"Ruby! Are you still with Neo?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah. I'm eating dinner with her and her family. What's going on?" Ruby questioned.

"Can you give her a message to pass on to the rest of your team, my team, and her team? No one else is answering my calls." Jaune requested.

"Sure. What's the message?" Ruby asked.

Jaune looked to Neptune and Sun, who both have him a nod. "Tell everyone to meet in the city. We found a White Fang hideout and a possible lead on one of their commanders."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Ruby and Neo rushed to the meeting point as fast as they could. They all would gather at the spot where General Ironwood presented the new Atlesian Knights and Paladins. They were the first ones to meet up with Ruby's friends. Jaune, Sun, and Neptune wanted to wait for everyone to arrive first before they gave out information. It took around fifteen minutes at most for the entirety of Teams RWBY, JNPR, CMSN, and half of Team SSSN to assemble. Once they all were there, that was when the information was announced.

"Where did you guys get this information?" Yang asked after they were debriefed, an obvious puzzled look on her face.

"We got it from a White Fang member who was exiting the hideout itself. We questioned him and it turns out he was trying to sneak away because he no longer believed in his faction's goals. He was happy to leak as much information as he could to us before we let him go on his way." Neptune informed everybody.

"Good job guys!" Ruby applauded for her friends.

"What's our plan of action then?" Blake asked, eager to have a chance at damaging the White Fang.

Neptune rubbed his chin before snapping his fingers once to indicate that he gained an idea. "We learned that the hideout is recruiting Faunus for whatever they are doing. I was thinking Sun and Blake should infiltrate the hideout for obvious reasons. Everyone else should surround the hideout in case things go wrong or to keep the White Fang secured in the building."

"I gotta say, nice job guys." Pyrrha complimented.

"Ok, let's get going." Ruby said. She was excited for the mission. She did not look forward to harming members of the White Fang, despite them being enemies. She was the type of person who wanted to avoid fights and secure the safeness of others first. What she did look forward to though was what the mission caused amongst the teams. Whenever they are all in action, there is no popularity contest. No one is better than the other. They were all equals. Being in action is the only time Ruby and her friends aren't ignored by the others. In fact, they interact with the others in a mission more than a regular week of school. "This is going to be great!"

...

_Fifteen Minutes Later_

Sun and Blake stood inside the building. They easily bypassed the guard, who was unaware of their intentions. They both held recruit masks in their hands to disguise themselves.

"I'm really impressed with you and the other two. What made you guys look for the White Fang?" Blake inquired, fumbling with the mask.

"We were worried about you because you've been focusing on these guys too much. You didn't want to give up though so the next best thing was to help you out as soon as possible." Sun replied.

"Really? Thank you." Blake said.

Sun observed the mask he held in his hands, questioning the appearance it bore. "I don't get it." Sun says as he holds out the mask to Blake. "You were in the White Fang before. If you believe what you're doing is right, why hide who you are?

"The masks are a symbol. Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters." Blake answered.

"Grimm masks... That's kind of dark." Sun commented.

"So was the guy who started it." Blake stated as she put on her mask and proceeded deeper into the building.

"Always sunshine and rainbows with you." Sun commented again, following Blake's lead. The two entered a large room, filled with both recruits and actual members. The new recruits were moving in a line to the side of the stage. Blake and Sun look around themselves when they stop somewhere in the recruit line. A fully-masked man with tattoos appears and stands on the stage before he starts speaking before everyone.

The man extended his arms out to the side. "Thank you all for coming. For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours! I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for for so long!"

Now, a man stepped forward from behind the sheets that were concealing a large object. The man wore a white bowler hat with a red band. Underneath the hat, he wore a white, full-face mask with red lines painted along the side of it. He also wore a red-collared white suit and a small black scarf. He has black gloves with rounded sleeves, as well as long black pants and black shoes. The White Fang emblem was emblazoned on the back of the man's white suit.

"I don't know about you, but that looks like a man with high authority to me." Sun whispered to Blake.

The suspected man waved to his audience. "Thank you, thank you! Please, hold your applause!" the man said despite the lack of clapping. "Now I must admit, to gain all of your trust, I'm just going to straight up tell you that I'm a human."

Gasps emitted from among the recruits. Many of them were whispering amongst themselves, questioning the presence of a human. A recruit with antlers pointed at the human accusingly. "What's a human doing here?!"

The human chuckled. "I'm glad you asked, deerie!" He proceeded to laugh lightly at his own joke. "Now, I'll be the first to admit, humans... are the worst. I understand why you would like to see us all locked away, or, better yet, killed!"

Sun leaned close to Blake again to whisper to her. "So, is he going somewhere with this?"

"But, before the claws come out, I'd like to mention the fact that you and I all have a common enemy: the ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty, rotten humans that run our kingdoms!" The recruits begin a murmur of agreement with the human. "Government, military, even the schools: they're all to blame for your lot in life! And they're all pests that need to be dealt with! Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around... No offense to any rodents in the room." The human makes a snap with his fingers. The sheets he emerged from fell, revealing an Atlesian Paladin painted with White Fang colors. The Faunus in the room began applauding.

As the man continues on with his speech, Blake leans close to Sun this time. "How did he get that?"

"I don't know. I think we've seen enough though. We should get out of here." Sun suggested.

"This is our chance to take down one of their commanders. We can't let him leave this building." Blake refuted.

"We need back-up Blake. If we want to capture this guy, we should get actual hunters and huntresses to do it." Sun reasoned.

"We don't have time. The commander will leave before they arrive." Blake stated.

"Umm...I think it might be too late either way." Sun pointed to the commander, who was walking to one of the back rooms of the building.

"Will all new recruits please come forward!" the Faunus with tattoos relayed.

The group of recruits Sun and Blake his amongst started to move forward. "Welp!" Sun yelled in worry.

...

Neo sat on top of of a nearby building that overlooked the hideout. Although she was keeping an eye on the hideout, she couldn't help but think about her time with Ruby and how they almost kissed.

_'I...I can't believe I almost kissed her. When did I actually start returning her feelings? If I was willing to kiss her then, does that mean I want to be with her? And...and when she held my hand in hers. Our hands fit so perfectly with each other. I want to hold her hand again. She's so cute, innocent, sweet, and-'_

_'No Neo! Stop it! You can't be developing feelings for her! Think about it! You'll lose all the respect you've earned. All of that along with the effort to attain it will be gone.'_

_'B...but I've ignored Ruby for too long. I just want to hug and comfort her. She doesn't deserve this. Who cares about respect?'_

_'Who cares?! It's the only thing that is keeping others from hurting you! They'll all treat you the same as Ruby and her friends or even worse!"_

Neo's internal conflict was hurting her head. She didn't know how much longer she could ignore Ruby. It pained her to shut Ruby out when she first began doing it. It still pains her today but society's outlook on people has a strong power to bend people to its will. She masked her pain though with a cold behavior, one that she wasn't too very fond of either. She knew that Ruby hid her pain behind an attitude of happiness and a bright spirit. _'Is all of this worth it?'_

Neo jumped and snapped out of her thoughts when her scroll began ringing. She checked who the caller was. It was her brother. She answered. "Hi Roman."

"Hey Neo. How are you doing?" Roman asked.

"I'm fine, but listen, I don't have much time to talk right now. I'm on a mission." Neo informed her brother.

"What? I thought you and Ruby would still be at our parents' house. What mission could you possibly have at this time?" Roman questioned.

"We found a White Fang hideout and one of their commanders may be inside. My team, Team RWBY, and Team JNPR have it surrounded. Half of Team SSSN are also helping out. Sun and Blake are currently infiltrating the hideout." Neo answered.

"The White Fang? Do you need help?" Roman asked, sounding concerned.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I think we got this." Neo said.

"Hmm...ok then. Just stay safe alright?" Roman said to Neo.

"I'll be sure to do that." Neo hung up the call. She put aside her thoughts of Ruby and focused on the mission. "The White Fang is going to take a major blow tonight." Neo confidently said to herself.

...

Sun and Blake watched the Faunus recruits walk by them, the line getting shorter and shorter. "What do we do?" Sun asked Blake.

"I don't know. I'm thinking. We may have to just go along with it for now." Blake suggested.

"What?" Sun questioned.

"I don't like it either but we don't have much of a choice right now." Blake admitted.

The two were slowly walking with the rest of the recruits. Everything was going smoothly. The human commander of the White Fang emerged from the back rooms and walked to the front of the stage at an alerting pace. He scanned the crowd, searching for something. His masked face stopped moving when he was looking in the direction of the two infiltrating Faunus. He noticed how the two looked hesitant to move forward. He pointed at Sun and Blake. "Seize the spies!"

At that moment, Blake knew both herself and Sun were compromised. Blake looked around and spotted a power box on one of the walls of the large room. _'Humans can't see in the dark.'_ Blake pulled out her Gambol Shroud in its gun form and shot the power box, shutting off the lights in the building.

...

Ruby was overlooking the building on top of an apartment complex. She kept imagining the event in which she and Neo almost kissed. In her head, she kept dreaming of the kiss actually happening. Just the thought of connecting her lips with Neo's brought a rush to the girl. Her heart beated fast, the palms of her hands became sweaty, and she breathed heavily through her nose. That was just the thought though. Ruby couldn't imagine how she would react if it actually happened.

Her dreaming was interrupted though when she heard a gunshot emit from inside the building. _'Oh crap! What happened?! Are Sun and Blake ok?!' _Ruby mentally asked herself. A few seconds of silence lingered until Sun and Blake broke through one of the building's windows. "Phew!" Ruby sounded in relief as she wiped her forehead. However, an Atlesian Paladin with the White Fang emblem also emerged from the building, breaking down the hideout's wall. It was chasing after Sun and Blake. Ruby used her semblance to quickly get from the top of the building to the street. She chased after the machine that was chasing her comrades.

Everyone else also spotted the event and began their chase of the Paladin. Everyone quickly contacted each other through their scrolls. "Blake, Sun, what happened?!" Pyrrha asked the two.

"We don't know! The commander is in that machine! He somehow knew we were infiltrating! We need to stop him!" Sun answered while running for his life.

"Head to the highway. I got a plan." Ruby instructed. She proceeded to tell everyone their positions and what to do.

Sun and Blake acknowledged the girl's instructions by heading for the highway. When they were actually at said place, they hopped from car to car in a quick pace to prevent the Paladin from reaching them. Meanwhile, the Paladin pushed and shoved cars out of its way to pursue its targets.

While everyone else was still moving into their positions and the chase persisted, Ruby waited in her position at the bottom of the highway. "Weiss, you almost in position?"

"Almost there. Don't worry, I'll be in position before they pass by it." Weiss answered.

Ruby had her Crescent Rose at the ready, patiently waiting for her plan to take effect. She had confidence in her teammates to get their parts of the job done. She waited, listening to the commotion that was occurring from the hallway. The sound was distant, but with each passing second the sound became louder as it got closer. She could then see in the distance both Sun and Neptune falling from the highway.

"I'm in position!" Weiss said through the scroll.

Ruby took a combat stance, expecting the Paladin to fall in front of her at anytime. She heard the sound of Weiss forming ice and then the sound of metal screeching. Just as she expected, the Paladin fell off the highway and fell in front of her. Ruby kept her eyes on the machine as it stood up. Team RWBY, Team CMSN, and half of Team JNPR took their positions and stood by Ruby.

"Where's Jaune and Pyrrha?" Ruby asked.

"They went to go recover Sun and Neptune. They'll be here in time." Ren answered, pulling out his StormFlower.

The machine stands up, moving slowly towards the hunters and huntresses in training.

"Weiss, Yang! Give us cover!" Ruby ordered. The two girls nodded. Everyone backed up as Weiss formed a circle of ice on the ground. She moved out of the way as Yang smashes the center of the circle with Ember Celica, creating a mist. The mist fogged up the vision in the area. The Paladin activates its laser sensors to make up for the lost sight, but it barely sees the afterimage of Blake and narrowly misses the dashing Yang. A gun manages to fire at the area between Blake and Yang, but out from the blast comes Ruby, who slashes the metal with her blade, causing it to falter.

"Go for it!" Ruby yelled out. Mercury leaps over the Paladin from behind. As he passes over the head of the Paladin, he manages to kick it, letting out a shot from his weapon. He lands in front of Paladin, calmly taking his time to move as the machine prepares to crush him. Before it could, Neo moves in front of Mercury and points her umbrella towards the giant. As the Paladin's punch makes contact, there is a flash of white and both Neo and Mercury are gone from where the punch landed. Explosions of pink dust and fire impact then impact the body of the machine. One of the machine's guns targeted its shooters, Cinder and Nora. Neo and Mercury appear to their side, Mercury assisting and Neo ready to cast another illusion just in case.

Weiss, Blake, Emerald, and Ren move in close to attack the Paladin and prevent it from shooting the other part of the group. They start slicing and stabbing the Paladin's legs and feet. They manage to take out a few of its sensors. They retreat from the machine as it tries to crush them. The machine fires its missiles at the four retreating teenagers. They manage to avoid the missiles for a good amount of time, but one manages to hit Weiss, who blocked with her Myrtenaster. As she is sent flying back, she casts a yellow clockwork circle underneath Blake, Emerald, and Ren. The three proceed to destroy incoming missiles with ease.

With most missiles out of commission, Ruby runs and taps Blake on the shoulder to signal to follow her. Ruby shoots herself forward and cuts at the robot's legs, then turns as Blake aims herself at the giant's feet as well. They both dash forward and attack at the same time, circling each other around the Paladin with each strike. Meanwhile, the others assist with ranged attacks to the giant's upper body. Ruby and Blake continue their attack until they both launch themselves into the air and come down together on the giant's shoulder and cut off the left arm entirely.

Yang immediately jumps onto the Paladin's back and punches the top with fiery shotgun blasts. She could hear grunts from the man inside due to being knocked around in the cabin. The machine runs backwards through two columns and leaves Yang embedded in a third before backing away and turning towards her. Just as Yang is falling down, the remaining arm extends a closed fist and punches her. Yang flies through the column and lands roughly on the ground.

"Yang!" Emerald yells out. The entire group were about to move to recover Yang, but the Paladin fired upon them as it moved towards the downed blonde girl. Yang slowly gets back on her feet, hair burning bright as she clenches her fists. The Paladin throws a punch, but Yang catches it in her own hand, the force ground cracking beneath her. With eyes red with rage, she smashes her knuckles into the second arm, obliterating it under her force. With no arms left, the machine opts to kick Yang, sending the angered girl backwards.

"Blake! Catch her!" Emerald ordered. Blake nods and throws her Gambol Shroud out for Yang to catch while in mid-air. The Faunus uses the momentum to swing the glowing girl around for a final hit to the robot. The robot turns away from the battlefield however and steps out of the way just in time to avoid the hit and appears to begin retreating.

"We can't let it escape! We need to slow it down! Neo, stall it while Weiss and I prepare to slow it!" Ruby ordered.

"Gotcha!" Neo acknowledged. She quickly runs to the front of the Paladin, getting in its way. The machine stops in its tracks as it observes the person blocking its path. It then begins to proceed forward, adjusting its legs to avoid impacting the girl. Neo casts another of her illusions on the machine, causing it to spin and face towards the battlefield again.

"Now!" Ruby exclaimed. Twirling their weapons so they both point at the Paladin, Weiss creates a series of glyphs in front of Ruby's scythe. Ruby fires a single shot through the circles, creating a dazzling spiral of energy that creates large icicles upon impact with the Paladin. Ruby continues to shoot, enveloping the robot's body completely in ice.

Blake swings her partner around in a circle one more time and with the machine unable to move, the Paladin is hit by the speed and power of Yang's fists, flying into the air before crashing down in a hundred pieces. From all the pieces, the human commander of the White Fang stands above all the debris, holding something long and slim in his hand. He brushes himself off before looking towards the teenagers that destroyed his vehicle. Jaune, Pyrrha, Sun, and Neptune rejoin the entire group, weapons at the ready.

Mercury charges toward the human. He leaps up and proceeds to kick the human in the face, cracking the man's mask and knocking off the bowler hat. The man is sent spiraling backwards, landing on his front and his mask grinding the floor. Mercury recovers from his landing position and smirks at Yang. "All yours."

Yang slowly walks towards the downed human. The man proceeds to push himself up, back facing all the teenagers. From behind, the teenagers can see the mask fall apart. The man stands fully erect, a little dazed by the impact. Yang begins her charge. He turns around, revealing an all too familiar face to Ruby and Neo.

"R...Roman?" Neo breathlessly said, dropping her weapon in a state of shock.

"What? What's your brother doing with the White Fang? Yang, stop!" Ruby yells out.

Yang hears her half-sister, stopping her charge. She faces Ruby, wondering why the girl told her to stop. With Yang, distracted, Roman fires a round of his Melodic Cudgel at the fiery girl, causing Yang to be knocked onto the floor. Roman looks to his sister with a regretful look. A feminine figure jumps in front of Roman from the highway. The figure was clad in a white trench coat, white pants, white boots, and a white full-face mask. "Get us out of here Alpha." Roman said to the white clad person. Alpha does a slight salute before throwing a smoke bomb, providing a smoke screen for the two. Yang got back up, even more enraged. When the smoke cleared, Roman and Alpha were nowhere to be seen.

"What the hell was that Ruby!? Why did you tell me to stop!? We could have had him!" Yang complained.

"B...but that was Neo's brother." Ruby informed the group, a little hurt by Yang yelling at her.

The group gasped in shock, looking at an equally shocked Neo. Sirens could be heard in the distance, the sound getting louder as it approaches the recent battle. "Neo?" Ruby asked to check the girl's state of mind. "Neo?" she asked again.

Neo just stood there, staring onwards where Roman was previously standing. She couldn't believe what she had just seen. Her role model, her inspiration, her brother was with the enemy. She walked past her allies and to Roman's last known location, picking up the bowler hat. She examined the hat, rotating it in her hands. _'Why Roman? Why?'_

**A/N: I'm pretty sure almost everyone knew who the commander was. It wasn't intended to be a big surprise to us, but a surprise for the characters. This chapter was for setting up a major plot point in the story. I know that I basically described the actual episode of RWBY (volume 2, chapter 4) with just some alterations so I apologize if you found it annoying,, inconvenient, unnecessary, etc. So yeah, thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Everyone who was on the mission to take down the White Fang Commander we're currently on their way to report back to Beacon Academy to discuss the information that was acquired. The ride back to the academy was uncomfortably silent for the teenagers. Everyone refused to talk about their recent discovery in front of Neo. Ruby only watched her crush wear a worried face, not paying attention to anything else.

When the students arrived at the academy, several members of General Ironwood's forces escorted the teenagers inside a building and towards a meeting room. They were instructed to wait outside the room for a bit while preparations were being made.

Neo took a seat on a chair that was against the wall, alone. Her head tilted down to look at her boots. She hunched over, arms resting on her thighs to keep her up.

Everyone else distanced themselves from the girl, letting her absorb the revelation that had made itself known.

Ruby would not stand for it however. She hated seeing Neo so distressed. She approached the multi-colored girl, stopping when her boots were placed in front of Neo's. "N...Neo, how are you feeling?"

Neo still looked downwards, not even making an effort to look up and meet Ruby's eyes.

"I know this must be really shocking for you. I'm worried about you. Please, talk to me." Ruby pushed.

Neo still made no motion.

Ruby kneeled down to meet Neo's eyes. She gently placed her fingers atop the back of Neo's hand. "Neo?"

"Hey, leave Neo alone. She obviously doesn't want to be bothered right now." Emerald said. "Just because you have a crush on her, it doesn't mean you have the right to interfere with how she wants to handle this."

Ruby felt like dismissing Emerald's words and just focus on trying to help. However, Ruby knew there was truth to her words too. Neo had just learned of her brother's true allegiance. It makes sense that she would be shocked for a period of time. Hesitantly, Ruby moved away from Neo and moved towards her seat.

Mercury moved to confront her. "Ok nerd, how did you know that was Neo's brother? To my knowledge, the only ones who knew of Roman were Neo, Cinder, Emerald, and myself."

Ruby adopted a worried face. She knew Neo wouldn't want her to tell all of them that she's been over to Neo's house. "I...I...I can't tell you."

Mercury adopted a slightly angered face. "Why not?" His tone changed dramatically to an aggressive one.

Ruby was speechless. She didn't know what she could say to ward off Mercury without revealing why she knew. She couldn't lie either because she still thought it was wrong. Ruby's mouth moved but no sound came out.

"I'm waiting." Mercury stated. By then, everyone else was focused on the two.

Ruby remained silent, deciding that anything she could say would be used against her.

Mercury had enough though. "Ok then. I'll get the information from you another way." He harshly gripped Ruby's arm and lifted her up by it. Ruby was left dangling about two feet above the ground.

Ruby hated this. Now that they weren't on a mission, everything was returning back to the way it was.

"Hey, let her go! If she doesn't want to answer you, then she doesn't have to!" Neptune defended his friend. Sun, Jaune, and himself stood up, ready to charge into Mercury if needed.

Just then, the door to the meeting room was opened, two soldiers of Atlas appeared from it. One of them moved to Neo and carefully helped her up and guide her inside the room.

Mercury released Ruby. "This isn't over yet." He proceeded to walk into the meeting room along with everyone else.

Ruby's friends helped her up. "What a jerk. Are you alright?" Jaune asked.

"I'm fine. Come on, let's just go." Ruby stated. The four of them moved to enter the room. The guard stopped them however. "Hey!"

"Sorry but you four can't enter." the guard stated.

"What? Why? We were a part of the mission." Jaune complained.

"Some of the teenagers that went in said that your assistance is not needed. A few said you four would pose a distraction too. Sorry but I can't let you in. Go head back to your dorms. Your friends shouldn't be too long." The guard closed the door behind him, blocking it with himself.

The four walked away. "Damn. It must have been Mercury and the rest of those conceded bas-"

"Sun!" Ruby interrupted.

Sun raised his arms in the air in surrender. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just tired of being pushed around. We seriously need to do something about our positions. We can't let everyone push us around and step on us. I'm sick of it and I'm sure you guys are to."

"I get that Sun. The thing is, what can we do? No one gives us a chance before we can do anything." Neptune folded his arms across his chest.

Sun sighed. "I don't know, but we have to do something. We can't just wait and think everything will sort itself out in time."

"Then we make our own chance. We don't wait for the approval of others. We take things into our own hands and sort it out ourselves." Ruby stated with a boldness.

"Yeah. That sounds like something I can get behind." Jaune agreed.

Neptune smiled in agreement. "Sounds good. Ok then Ruby, how are we gonna go about this?"

"Let's head to my dorm. We can work out a plan from there." Ruby advised. The four friends headed towards Team RWBY's dorm, liking their plan of action so far.

...

_Twenty Minutes Later_

The four friends were playing on Ruby's gaming system. They were currently sitting in a lobby to find a match in multiplayer. While they waited, they discussed how they should approach standing up for themselves.

Neptune clasped his hands together, ready to set down a rule. "So we can't expect anything to go our way. We need to make things better for us ourselves. This means we should not rely on anyone besides each other and those who tolerate us."

Ruby nodded in approval. "Ok. Anyone else want to add on?"

Sun raised his hand. "We should distance ourselves from the rest of our peers for a certain period of time. It would definitely be a good break for us from all the insults. Also, maybe, just maybe, someone will miss us. Team training sessions don't count though since we are required to be with the rest of them."

Ruby had a disappointed look. As much as she wanted to be treated fairly by the rest of the academy students, her feelings for the multi-colored girl was at the point where it could be considered obsessive. She didn't want to let her friends down though. "Alright. Can you guys make an exception for Neo and I tomorrow? I still need to finish my project with her and I want to see if she is ok."

"Ok Ruby, we'll make an exception for you. Only for tomorrow though. We really need to earn respect from our peers." Neptune stated.

Jaune snapped his fingers as he formed an idea. "Maybe we can ask Professor Ozpin to let us go on some missions together. Nothing too serious though. Maybe just patrol the city or the city's perimeters. Besides, the academy doesn't have anything big planned for us for a while another than that tournament. The tournament doesn't even arrive for a while. It's possible that Ozpin will let us get away with it. It'll certainly be a way to get away from and get our minds off of the other students for a time."

"That actually doesn't sound too bad. I don't mind that at all. Sure! Why not? It's worth a shot." Sun commented.

"Nice thinking Jaune." Ruby fist-bumped her friend, boosting Jaune's confidence.

"Alright guys, focus now. We got a free-for-all to deal with." Neptune revealed, referring to their game.

The four grabbed their controllers and immediately got immersed into their game. Over the duration of the game, the friends laughed together and played a friendly, competitive game. They would throw jokes as each other, mock each other in a friendly way, and discussed other things that interested them while they played. This was a part of their lives that they were used to and loved. This was a part where they were the ones in control and no one thought poorly of the four.

Sometimes, they wished the way they were right now to last forever. It was a comforting peace to them that they never got a chance to experience with all the things wrong in their life. It takes them away from all the pain in the world. It provides a temporary escape from the stresses of life. They knew it couldn't happen though. They had a duty to become protectors of the world. They would not let others' opinions get in the way of that. When the game finished, they decided immediately searched for another match.

"So when are we gonna ask Ozpin?" Jaune questioned, eyes still on the digital screen.

"We ask after Neo and I complete our project." Ruby suggested.

Just then, the rest of Team RWBY entered the door, finally finished with the meeting.

"Eww...what are you guys doing in our dorm?" Weiss had a combination of an annoyed and disgusted look on her face.

"We were killing time here since a few people told the guards to not let us in Ice Queen." Sun replied.

Weiss placed both hands on her hips. "How dare you! Ruby, get your loser friends out of here!"

Ruby looked to her friends for their reactions. They had just agreed that they would stand up for themselves. The problem was, they feared those that mocked them. Still, Ruby attempted to resist in respect for her friends' wishes. "N...No Weiss. We...we were here first and as uh...team leader, I invited them in.

Weiss had an angered look. Blake stepped forward. "Sorry Ruby but we need to get some rest. You and your friends might prove bothersome."

"B...but-" Ruby stopped herself when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked to her left and saw it was Jaune.

"It's ok Ruby. We don't have to exactly start right now. We appreciate that you tried though." Jaune patted Ruby on the shoulder. "You have a goodnight." Jaune excused himself through the girls that were standing at the door, leaving. Neptune and Sun nodded to Ruby before making their way out too. Sun stopped at the doorway though.

"Uh...goodnight Blake. I uh...hope your conscious is settled a little." Sun said to her.

Blake sighed. "No. It's not settled. Not at all. The White Fang commander got away."

Sun rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, we almost got-"

"Almost isn't good enough!" Blake argued. "The White Fang are still at large! And now...now they have Ironwood's Paladins! They are an even bigger threat than they were before!"

Sun had no idea what to say concerning the topic so he decided it was best to make his departure.

Ruby watched her dispirited friend leave the doorway. She also decided it was best to not say anything and just get ready for bed. She did so and climbed in between the sheets of her bed. She snuggled herself into the fluffiness of her bed. It a few short seconds, her eyes shut and she was sound asleep.

...

_The Next Day_

Jaune waited at the Academy Gardens for Sun and Neptune. He was sitting on a bench, using his scroll to pass the time. Although he looked like he was working on something, in actuality he was thinking about a girl he could not get off of his mind.

_'Pyrrha.'_ he thought.

There was just something about the girl that made Jaune even more socially awkward that he was now. He viewed the red-haired girl as a strong, independent woman. Not to mention she is fairly famous by the rest of the world.

Her combat style amused him. Jaune always wondered how Pyrrha could fight so well with heels. Still, it didn't detract in from the fact that Pyrrha was a very capable warrior. What amused him even more though is that Pyrrha agreed to secretly teach Jaune combat moves during the night. It was delightful for Jaune because she was one of his few escapes to take his mind away from everything wrong in his life.

At first, Jaune saw Pyrrha as just a partner, nothing else. His attraction led to Weiss initially. However, failed attempts with asking Weiss out and spending more time with Pyrrha shifted the way he thought about her. Now, he's looking forward to seeing Pyrrha every day, despite living in the same dorm with her. That's just how much Jaune's feelings for the red-haired girl has grown.

Jaune really liked her not just because she was popular and beautiful, but because she was one of very few people who didn't mess with Jaune or his friends. Sure, she doesn't hang out with them, but when they are in the same room together, she treats them nicely. Jaune completely appreciated that.

Whilst Jaune had his mind on the girl, he felt his scroll being snatched from his hands. Surprised, Jaune stood up to face the thief. A second later, he was forcefully shoved back onto the bench. He felt two arms heavily rest on his shoulders, keeping him pinned to the bench. He looked to who was keeping him down and saw it was both Russel and Dove. Who stood in front of Jaune and the one who snatched his scroll however was none other than Cardin.

"Well hey there Jauney boy!" Cardin greeted, waving Jaune's scroll a little. "Whatchu up too?"

"What are you guys doing? Let me go!" Jaune struggled to free himself.

Cardin had a look of fake hurt on his face. "Aww. We just wanted to hang out with our blonde friend." Cardin then reverted back to a serious face. "Did you do our homework for us yet like we asked you too?"

Jaune gulped. "Homework? Well, I...I mean I...you were supposed to-"

Jaune then took a smack to the back of his head. "Wrong answer." Cardin replied. While he, Dove, and Russel laughed at his pain, Jaune turned his head to look behind him. The one who inflicted pain on the back of his head was Sky.

"Guys, you're going to get in trouble if a teacher sees you." Jaune warned.

"Oh! Don't worry about that Jaune. They are all too busy discussing boring stuff in their meeting. Also, before you say anything else, don't expect anyone to help you. Those losers Sun and Neptune definitely won't be coming. Now that we got that out of the way, we can have some fun!" Cardin wrapped his left arm around Jaune's head and gave him a harsh noogie.

"Grrr..." Jaune sounded in pain and annoyance. "What did you do to them?! Did you hurt Ruby too?!"

"Little red? I haven't seen her yet. When I do, I'll be sure to take care of her." Sky responded instead.

"Don't you dar-" Jaune was cut off again. This time, Cardin punched him in the face.

"Shut up." Cardin had a devious smirk on his face.

Jaune gulped again. _'Oh no...'_

...

Ruby walked around the courtyard, searching for a certain girl. She had seen Neo in her classes earlier so she knew the girl had to be around there somewhere. She wandered, checking each spot. She even doubled back a few times to make sure she didn't miss Neo. People gave her weird looks from time to time considering Ruby had just passed by them again.

It started to become futile for Ruby. There were just so many people. Just as she was about to give up, her hope flourished anew when she saw pink in the distance. She headed towards the pink, unintentionally getting in the way of some people and cutting through groups.

She spotted Neo, walking away from the courtyard. Ruby chased after her. She followed the multi-colored girl to an area away from public eyes. "Neo!" Ruby yelled out. Neo stopped for a second and didn't turn around. Soon, she was running, away from Ruby. "Neo, wait!"

Ruby pursued the girl. It was only a few seconds before Ruby decided to use her semblance to catch up to the girl. In a matter of seconds, Ruby found herself in front of Neo. When Neo saw that the red-cloaked girl had caught up to her, she immediately looked downwards to conceal her face. "Neo, why are you running?"

Neo didn't say anything. She just kept looking downwards while slowly backing up.

"Come on Neo, say something." Ruby begged.

Still nothing.

Ruby placed her hands on Neo's shoulders. "Listen, I know you're still upset about Roman. His betrayal must be hard on you. I understand that. I-"

Neo harshly shoved Ruby's hands off her shoulders. "No you don't understand! You're just saying that because you think I'll make me feel better!"

Ruby was kind of glad there was only a few people around and not the entire academy. "Wha...Neo I-" Ruby stopped herself when Neo looked up and their eyes met. Neo was crying.

"You don't understand how I feel right now! You don't know Roman like I do! He would never be a criminal unless it was for a good reason! There has to be something wrong!" Neo exclaimed, menacingly walked towards Ruby, causing the younger girl to step back as Neo got closer. "And...and you! How could you abandon me like that?!"

Ruby had a confused expression. "Abandon? When did I-"

"Why weren't you there at the meeting?! Mercury told me that you and your friends went to go play your video games. That you would rather do that than assist me when I needed you the most!" Neo ranted.

_'She...she wanted me to be there for her?'_ Ruby stopped backing up to confront the situation. "N...no...no I couldn't join you. The guards stopped my friends and I from entering the meeting room. I wanted to be there for you."

"You're lying!" Neo refused to listen. "Why would they stop you?! You were there at the mission too!"

"I...I...I-"

"I may have not been the nicest person to you and I may sound like a hypocrite, but I really needed everyone's support! It...it hurts too much to handle alone!" Neo started to move away.

"Wait, Neo! It was Mercury who-"

"Leave me alone Ruby." Neo stated, hugging herself and taking on a quieter tone. "I can finish our project by myself. Just leave me alone. Don't talk to me ever again." With that, Neo ran off once again.

Ruby couldn't chase after her. She was demoralized. Ruby slowly sunk down onto her knees. She brought her hands up to her face. She began crying. Neo was somewhat right. Ruby never had a brother to take care of her. She couldn't imagine how it would have felt to lose someone so close to her. _'Neo...Neo I'm so sorry. It wasn't my fault though. It...it wasn't my fault. It was Mercury. Mercury...IT WAS MERCURY! It's his fault! Not mine! He's the reason why I couldn't be there for you! He's the reason I couldn't be there for you all those times! All those missed opportunities! It was because of him!'_ Ruby stood up, tears still running. Still, she didn't have the will to confront Neo so she walked the other way.

It took a bit of time for Ruby to stop crying. Although she managed to stop, her eyes were slightly red from all of it. She walked to the Academy Gardens so that she could just observe the scenery and hopefully find some peace.

However, she noticed a fairly large crowd surrounding something. Ruby walked towards the crowd and cut through to see what was of interest. She gasped when she saw Jaune being beaten up by Team CRDL.

Cardin bullies Jaune. Ruby finds them after attempting to comfort Neo. She interferes, but both she and Jaune are harmed by Cardin and his friends. Jaune was resisting though despite the left side of his face being bruised badly and a cut on his lip that was gushing blood.

_'Stand up for your friends.'_ Ruby charged in. Despite lacking physical strength, she would rather fight back than stand by and watch her friend being harmed.

She speared herself into Russel, sending both of them onto the floor. Ruby stood up and ducked under a punch by Sky. She countered by punching Sky in the chest. However, Sky was unfazed. He grabbed Ruby's arm and punches the girl in the face. Ruby went spiraling onto the floor. As she tried pushing herself up, she was kicked in the side of her ribs, causing her to falter again. _'That didn't last long.'_ Ruby complained.

"Would you look at that? Little red has decided to join us!" Sky made known. "You're an idiot for interfering Ruby."

Now, both Ruby and Jaune were being beaten up in public. Jaune was held in a headlock by Dove as Cardin punched him many times. Jaune looked like he was about to pass out. Blood seeped from a cut that now existed on his forehead.

Ruby's arms were locked behind her back by Russel as Sky kept slapping her in the face, throwing out vicious insults. To make matters worse, Sky kicked Ruby in the stomach, causing the wind to be knocked out of the girl. While she was desperate to breathe some air, Sky blocked the girl's mouth and nose, letting the girl suffocate a little.

"HEY!"

Sky looked to who yelled out just before getting kicked in the face. Russel was grabbed by a pair of hands behind him, forcing him to lose his grip on Ruby. He was then thrown into Cardin. Dove released Jaune and moved to pick up his fallen teammates. Team CRDL faced their attackers.

Sun and Neptune had their weapons out. They were also bruised from when Team CRDL had ambushed them earlier. Now, they were ready to fight back. "Leave us alone!" Sun yelled.

Team CRDL retreated as they didn't have their weapons to fight back with. They ran into the large crowd, cutting their way through and knocking a few people down.

Sun and Neptune sheathed their weapons and helped their two friends up. No words were spoken between the four injured friends as they made their way towards the nurse's office. They all had a look of seriousness on their face. People got out of the four's way. If the four were unsure about standing up for themselves, the assault they participated in gave them an answer. No more harassment or abuse. They will no longer tolerate it. Not anymore.

...

_One Week Later_

Ruby, Jaune, Sun, and Neptune had recovered from their injuries. Now, they were marching into Professor Ozpin's office. Ozpin had been informed of the assault that had been inflicted on the four so he knew they meant business.

"What can I do for you four?" he asked.

"We would like to make a request professor." Ruby answered for her friends in a demanding tone.

Ozpin smirked as he raised his cup of coffee up to his lips. He knew the girl was socially awkward and wasn't one to be serious. If she was being demanding right now, then she knew what was best and what she wanted.

Ozpin set his coffee mug on his desk and intertwined his fingers together. "Ok then. Tell me."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I just wanted to make a quick thank you for your follows, reviews, and support. You all are amazing and I'm very grateful you like my work. Just thank you! On with the story!**

**Chapter 6**

_The Next Day_

"You...you what?!" Yang yelled, shocked by what her half-sister had just told her.

"I'm going to be leaving Vale for a bit with Jaune, Neptune, and Sun to patrol the outskirts of the city. We have about two weeks before we can get a transportation that'll sneak us by. In the meantime, Professor Ozpin is finding us a trained fighter to come with us and help us." Ruby informed.

"B...but how did you get Ozpin to approve this?" Yang was in disbelief.

"Oh, he can't authorize first-years to venture outside city walls. He said that if any first-year students were to be found outside though, it was all the students' responsibility." Ruby smirked. She knew Ozpin couldn't allow Ruby and her friends to venture somewhere dangerous. Instead, Ozpin claimed that he would have no knowledge of their business if questions were to arise. Ruby always liked the professor.

Yang shook her head, disappointed. "Why Ruby? Why would you want to go out there?"

Ruby's smirk instantly disappeared and took on a slightly agitated look. "Why do you think? My friends and I are tired of how everyone at this school treats us. We can no longer stand it. We want to get away from it all for a time. Then, we'll return and face all of our torture again."

"Torture? Ruby why don't you just ask for help or something? Why don't you come to me?" Yang suggested, folding her arms across her chest.

"You don't think I've tried!" Ruby suddenly bursted out. "I've tried Yang! I've gone to many adults for support! Every time I do though, the next day, it's even worse because they call my friends and I sellouts! You...and you. You've never been there for me when I needed you! You're too scared to protect me from your so called 'friends'! They are the reason I hate coming to classes! They're the reason why life is so much worse for me! They're the reason why Neo doesn't want to see me anymore! I hate them!"

Yang was taken aback by Ruby's newfound rage. "Ruby, I'm sorry. I promi-"

"You always say that but you never come through with your words! I'm sick of it! Sorry Yang, but I don't need your support. I just need my friends." Ruby stated, hands on her waist and standing up straight.

Yang stood there speechless. She was completely confused where Ruby's newfound boldness came from. Either way, it had its impact on the golden girl. She didn't know what to think about Ruby's statement of not needing her. Her shock was disrupted when Nora ran past them, almost colliding with them. "Whoa Nora! What are you in a rush for?"

Nora hit her brakes, stopping herself to confront the two. "Didn't you check your scroll? Ironwood sent us a message to meet in the amphitheater. He's asking for Teams JNPR, RWBY, CMSN, and both Sun and Neptune. Hurry, we're already late!" Nora resumed running, leaving the two in the dust.

Ruby and Yang only looked at each other before following Nora's lead. The two followed Nora and narrowly avoided collision. They reached the amphitheater, everyone looking like they were waiting. The three girls bent down and gripped their thighs, breathing for air. It was a bit harsher for Ruby though as her body still felt sore from her recovery.

"Girls, please take a seat anywhere. I'll try to explain why you're all here as fast as I can." Ironwood gestured towards empty seats in the room before clasping his hands together and setting them down on the table. Ozpin was seated beside Ironwood, looking like he had business to settle himself.

Once everyone is seated, Ironwood displays the Vale city on the large holographic screen above him. "Before I go further into what this is about, I would like to inform you all why you're here. You're here because of two reasons. One, all higher year students are busy attending to other needs. Two, you're the only first year students to have experience infiltrating a White Fang occupied building. Which brings me to my next point. I need you all to infiltrate another building that the White Fang are using to store weapons and supplies. It is located in the Industrial District. The VPD are too scared to do anything and Ozpin won't allow Atlas troops to go storming in because peace issues. So instead, you all will be take matters into your hands. Understand?"

"Yes sir." all students in the room acknowledged.

"Good. The building is about thirty stories tall. You will split into two large groups. The first group will be entering the first floor of the building as only civilians. Keep your weapons concealed for the time being and keep the authorities occupied with questions and many minor distractions. The second group will be dropped off at the top of the building. They will go in and hack into the servers and grab intel. Afterwards, Ozpin wants them to secure a package somewhere on the top floors. I will be providing the bullheads to drop off the groups and extract them." Ironwood looked over to his comrade. "Ozpin."

Ozpin nodded. "I would advise you all to remain incognito. We just need you to grab what we need and then get out of there. Should things go south, all I can say is prepare to meet heavy resistance while being extracted. I would suggest that both groups should stick to their roles. I'll leave it to you fourteen on who is in which group." Ozpin took a sip of coffee. "Also, Neo. It is believed that your brother Roman is inside. Should any of you encounter him, I recommend to avoid direct combat."

Ruby watched Neo look at Ozpin with an amused stare. The tri-colored color leaned forward in interest.

"I don't know what Roman's intentions are, but for Neo's sake, capture him alive if you can. We need to take him in for questioning. About why he is helping the White Fang. If you can't, just leave him be. We'll try to capture him another day. It is also rumored that this white-clad masked girl you spoke of during the questioning known as Alpha is also there. Proceed with caution for her too. We don't know who this Alpha is capable of. Your ride to the building is waiting for you out in front of the academy along with your weapons. I wish all of you the best of luck." Ozpin dismissed the students with a slight bow of the head.

The fourteen teens stood up from their seats and exited the area, moving towards the vehicles provided for them. "Ok. There are two groups and fourteen of us which means we need to split into seven per group. Any volunteers for infiltrating the top of the building?" Cinder asked as they walked.

Ruby looked to her friends and to find out if she could volunteer themselves for the role. They shook their head in agreement. "Jaune, Sun, Neptune, and I will infiltrate." Ruby put forward.

Cinder acknowledged the offer with a nod. "Three volunteers left. Anyone else?"

Silence ensued, only the sound of their footsteps filling the hall.

"I'll go." Yang volunteered, deciding that she would redeem herself to Ruby.

A gloved hand along with golden gauntlets was raised in the air. "I volunteer too." Pyrrha said with an upbeat tone.

Neo emitted a sigh. "I'll go too. If Roman is truly there, I need to see him. I don't care how any of you think of him right now. He's still my brother."

"Neo, are you sure? I get you want to see your brother but with those lo-"

"I'm sure Mercury. Don't tell me otherwise." Neo stated coldly. Her eyes didn't even meet Mercury's. She kept looking forward.

"That's settled. Everyone else is on the distraction team then. Sync up your scrolls so we can communicate on the fly. I'll be heading this mission. Any concerns?" Cinder relayed as she pulled out her scroll and tapped a few of the holographic buttons.

No one had any complaints, or at least didn't voice them. Everyone else pulled out their scrolls and did the same as Cinder. They emerged to the front of the academy and walked to the two bullheads that were waiting for them. They picked up their weapons. The distraction team filled one bullhead and the infiltration team filled the other.

Soon enough, the bullheads started to lift away from the academy and towards the industrial district. Inside the aerial vehicles, both teams prepped themselves for the mission. The distraction team worked on concealing their weapons while the infiltration team made sure their weapons were ready to see combat.

Ruby took a position next to Neo inside the ship. The tri-colored girl shifted her head away from Ruby's direction. Ruby had a face of disappointment. She was hoping Neo would have forgiven her by now. Although disappointed, she kind of expected it. Still, Ruby would try to make things right with her.

Ruby waited a few seconds to gather her courage. "Neo?"

Neo still kept her sight away from Ruby, one arm gripping a handle on the roof of the bullhead's interior.

"Neo, please it wasn't my fault. You have to believe me. What reason would I have to ever leave you? Why would I suddenly stop trying to gain your attention?" Ruby pushed.

Neo's breathing was the only response Ruby was getting.

"Hey, are you deaf? Ruby is trying to talk to you. The least you can do is acknowledge her." Sun intervened.

He too was met with silence from the girl of interest.

"Excuse me! I don't appreciate how you're ignoring my friend. She only cares about you. It's not fair for her that you treat her kindness towards you as nothing at all." Sun looked like he was about to move from his spot to personally confront Neo.

Ruby stuck a hand out in front of Sun to stop her friend from doing anything. "It's fine Sun. I can handle this." Ruby moved closer to Neo, about a meter of space between them. "You were right Neo. I didn't understand how you felt about Roman."

Ruby saw Neo slightly cringe at the sound of her brother's name.

"I don't know what he did for you. I don't know why he is the White Fang. What I do understand though is that you love your brother very much. Otherwise you wouldn't have been a state of shock or lashed out at me about it." Ruby placed a hand on Neo's shoulder. "I would never leave you in pain. It wasn't my fault I couldn't be there for you. Please Neo."

Neo gripped the handle hard. Her other hand was tightly held in a fist that was shaking. "It wasn't your fault? How could you not have been there? Don't tell me it wasn't Mercury either."

"But it wa-"

"He couldn't have!" Neo interrupted Ruby, shoving the younger girl's hand off of her shoulder. "He was by my side shortly after I was escorted in the room! He couldn't have done it so quickly! I know he doesn't like you but he knew you were a witness that could have been helpful during the questioning!"

Everyone other than Ruby looked away from the argument that was ensuing. Ruby would not back down though. She knew her case and would defend herself from how she was wronged. "It was him though! No one else was messing with me at the time other than him! It must have-"

"Enough Ruby! He's my friend! I know him! He wouldn't do this, even to you!" Neo retorted, now releasing her grip on the handle and facing Ruby. "Your dislike of him is getting in the way of the truth! You're too blind to see it! I don't like that you're blaming my friends because of that. If you can't handle that truth, then don't ever expect anything from me!"

Ruby's heart ached. She really hated this. Neo was never one to yell at her. Now, it was something that was killing Ruby on the inside. "N...N...Neo..."

"Don't 'Neo' me! I thought you would be smart about this! You don't get any sympathy from me! I have enough to deal with! My parents and I are interrogated everyday due to Roman's actions! To add on to that, I'm starting to lose respect of others because they think I'm a traitor too! You think you have it bad because I'm not giving you the attention you want?!"

Neo's angry stare was a look of hell for Ruby. Her resolve slowly dwindled. Her words were a jumbled mess, not being able to form any clear statements.

"I want you to leave me alone! We will be nothing other than fellow huntresses on a mission! I should have listened to the others a long time ago and completely ignored you! Because of you, I fear every day that you'll undo everything I've done! Undo who I am! You're nothing other than a girl who thinks they'll persist through it all. Well guess what, the way you are right now, no one will ever accept you other than your family and your loser friends!" Neo stomped to the back of the aircraft, looking to find personal space there.

Ruby couldn't help but silently cry. When it came to insults, she could stay above it all. When it came from the person she was infatuated with, there was no control over her emotions. Ruby was completely obsessed with the multi-colored girl. She couldn't deny that. That's why it hurts her so much. There was no one else who catches her attention. Sure there were many other cute girls and handsome boys, but Ruby wasn't interested in them at all. There was only one person she wanted to be with, and that person was furious at her. Ruby's obsession of Neo was a main reason why many saw her as weird. No one could ever be so attached to a person. It wasn't normal. It was creepy.

Ruby didn't care. She accepted that. She wasn't born to be normal. She was born to be a special person in life. What others saw as creepy, she saw as beautiful and full of potential. She didn't care. Neo was the one for her. She would fight for her. She will fight for her.

_'Is Neo right about Mercury though? Could he not have really done it? He was the only one who had a problem with me at the time though. If it wasn't him, it could have been anyone else. Who would in their right mind would do that though? There was no reason anyone else would do it, even if they didn't like me.'_ Ruby thought.

Before Ruby could say anything on the matter, Yang pulled her to the side of the aircraft opposite of Neo. She hugged Ruby tight to comfort the sobbing Ruby. "Ruby, I think you should stop for now. Give it some time." she whispered into Ruby's ear.

Ruby struggled to free herself from Yang's hug. "B...but Yang, I need to make things right. I need to let her know that I will always support her." Ruby argued.

"I get that Rubes. You can't rush into this though. Just like a battle, you can't just rush it. You have to give it some thought and plan it out. Just jumping into it isn't going to make anything better. In fact, it'll just make things worse. Please, can you give it a rest for now?" Yang continued to whisper.

Ruby stopped her struggling. When she felt Yang loosen up, Ruby gently pushed Yang's arms away. "Fine. I'll stop for now."

"I'm sorry Ruby. I had to let you know though." Yang apologized.

"Yeah. It's fine I get it. Thanks." Ruby wiped away the last of her tears before moving to one of the closed doors of the bullhead.

"Checking in. Infiltration team, are you ready?" Cinder asked through their connected scrolls.

"Yeah Cin. We'll be ready by the time we get there." Pyrrha answered for the group.

"Good because we are nearing the target building. My group and I are going to land a street away from the building so that we don't catch the attention of the White Fang. We'll provide a distraction soon enough afterwards. Good luck." Cinder announced.

"Thanks. Good luck to you too." Pyrrha replied.

"Approaching target building. Enabling stealth drive. I'll be dropping off the seven of you quickly. I don't know how long this thing's stealth systems will last against the building's security systems." the Atlas pilot informed the group as he pressed multiple buttons and flipped a few switches.

The bullhead's doors opened up and revealed they were a few meters above the roof of the building. Neo was the first to jump down, followed by Yang and Pyrrha, and then the group of misfits. The bullhead left the premises as soon it offloaded all of them.

"Infiltration team to distraction team, we are on the building. There is a camera watching the only door that leads inside. Do your part and let us know when we have a green light to go inside." Pyrrha informed the other team, keeping watchful eyes on the one lone camera guarding the door.

"Roger that. The security camera room should be somewhere around the first few floors. Don't get comfortable. It'll be disabled in a few minutes." Cinder answered.

Upon hearing that, Ruby moved to sit along the building edge. The young girl peered out into the distance, thoughts wandering as she observed the Industrial District's buildings. Two minutes afterwards, she was joined by her friends. "Hi guys." she weakly greeted them.

"A...are you ok Ruby?" Jaune asked. "That was pretty rough back on the aircraft."

"I...I...I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Ruby assured.

"Don't worry about you? Ruby, we are your friends. It's our job to worry about you." Neptune commented.

"You're not my friends. You're my best friends. Sometimes, I feel like you guys could be my brothers too." Ruby voiced what she thought of them.

Sun sat beside Ruby and wrapped his arm around Ruby's shoulders and pulled her into a hug. "We are here for you Ruby. Neo doesn't deserve you. Knowing you though, that won't stop you will it?"

Ruby shook her head, indicating a no.

Sun chuckled a little. "Of course it wouldn't. We're here for you Ruby. Whenever you need us."

Neptune took a seat beside Ruby too. "Yeah Ruby. Just let us know if you ever need anything. There is nothing you can ask us that will make us think of you less. The four of us are in the same boat."

Jaune now decided to add in his part to the conversation. "Ruby, all of us are vulnerable alone. Together, we make a force that no one can break. Not physically of course, but a bond that will never be shattered no matter much things go wrong. We all have each other's backs and will stand by each other's sides. Because of you guys, I always have a shining beacon of hope in my life. I thank you all for that."

"I think all of can say the same." Sun released his hug on Ruby and gently patted the girl on the head.

"That was really nice you four." Pyrrha said from behind them. She had been silently listening to them.

"P...Pyrrha?" Jaune stuttered as he moved from his spot to stand and face Pyrrha. "You were listening?"

"It wasn't my intention at first. I just wanted to check on Ruby and see if she was capable of continuing with the mission. It seems like you guys have that covered though." Pyrrha took a second to fix up her armor. "If you four act like that, there is no doubt in my mind that you'll accomplish great things. Be sure it stays that way." Pyrrha gave the four a smile.

Jaune smiled back. Before he could say anything, Cinder contacted them on their scrolls. "Cameras are down for now. Get in there and grab the intel and package."

"Copy that. We're moving now." Pyrrha waved the four over. "Let's get moving." Everyone stacked up at the door, weapons at the ready. "Remember that we only have two priorities: the intel and the package. Try to maintain stealth." Pyrrha reminded everyone. She then turned to face Neo. "If your brother is here, we'll try to capture him. If we can't, we'll find another opportunity another day. Got it?"

"Got it." Neo answered as she held her weapon to the side of her waist.

Pyrrha looked to everyone to see if they were ready. They all responded to her by nodding yes. "Yang, get the door."

Yang opened the door for the red-haired girl, who in response, stormed inside with her weapon raised. Pyrrha observed the staircase and concluded no one was around. "Staircase clear." She gestured the rest of the group to follow her inside. She proceeded to descend the stairs. "Distraction team, we're in. Proceeding to secure the objectives."

Ruby stayed behind the group and watched them descend the stairs. She took a deep breath and raised her weapon. _'Let's do this.'_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The infiltration team stormed down the steps until they were on the top floor of the building. They silently and cautiously ambled through the hallways of the top floor. So far, there were no signs or indications that the White Fang were around. It just looked like a normal workplace building with no one in it.

That was until the team entered through a large, metal double door. Now, they were walking amongst a large collection of tables, each one holding a large collection of ranged and melee weapons on top of them.

"Whoa. Where did they get all of these?" Jaune asked, eyes widened.

Yang moved to one of the many tables and observed the weapons. They were all coated in White Fang colors. "I don't know. They also managed to steal a Paladin in the past. Whoever their supplier is, they have a lot of resources."

"The intel is obviously not on this floor. Maybe the package Ozpin wants is here though." Neo concluded.

"You could be right. He can't afford to waste time on each floor though. We were told that what we're looking for should only be around the top floors so it should at least be on the last five floors. We'll leave two here to search and two on the next. Who's going to stay here and look for the package?" Pyrrha advised.

Neptune raised his hand. "Sun and I got this floor covered. The rest of you can continue your search on the next floor. Just tell us on the scroll if you need backup."

Pyrrha nodded her head. "Do the same for us if you both encounter trouble. The rest of you, follow me." Pyrrha led the team while Neptune and Sun stayed behind.

"They'll be ok Ruby." Yang assured.

The remainder of the team reached the next floor and cautiously traversed it. Again, they were met with no resistance.

"Uhh...I thought there would at least be guards you know...uh...to protect their supplies." Jaune commented at the lack of resistance.

"You're right. It seems too easy. It could be a trap. We'll still keep going but I would exercise even more caution." Pyrrha moved forward, followed by the rest. The group swept most of the floor and still came up with nothing. "Ok. The package could still be here. Yang and Neo, stay on this floor and search for it." Pyrrha commanded.

Yang nodded and immediately began her search. Neo looked slightly hesitant and agitated, due to her wanting to find her brother. She lets it go though and joins Yang on the search.

Ruby, Jaune, and Pyrrha moved on while Neo watched them. When the trio was out of her sight, she let out a sigh. Yang then stood in front of her.

"Ok Neo, I get that you're stressed out about your brother and that you're tired of Ruby's pursuing you, but was it necessary to yell at her? She was only checking to see if you were in a stable condition." Yang voiced out.

"I'm sorry Yang, but I think it is best that I keep my distance from your sister now. Ever since I met her, my life has been progressively spiraling downwards. I'm done. I have too much situations that require my concern. I can't let Ruby distract me from them." Neo stated as she searched through the current room both girls were in.

Yang also began to search through the room. "Don't blame her that life is becoming harsher on you. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Because of that, so many people are giving her a hard time."

"That's her problem. Not mine." Neo coldly responded. "Now focus, we have a package to find."

_Ten Minutes Later_

Ruby, Jaune, and Pyrrha finished searching their floor and came up with nothing. With that floor cleared, they only had one more floor to clear. The intel had to be there.

Pyrrha walked out from the last room the three searched, a bit annoyed they hadn't found anything yet. "Ok, the intel should be on the next floor. The rest of our team still haven't found the package yet. It could possibly be on this floor or the next. What I'm thinking is that maybe one person should stay here and the remaining two clear our last assigned floor. Who wants to stay beh-"

"Guys, we're compromised! The White Fang ambushed us!" Sun warned in a panicked tone through the scroll. "We're moving down to next floor so that they don't overwhelm us! They got some serious firepower!"

"What?! How did they...never mind. We're coming to help!" Pyrrha changed the frequency of her scroll to contact the other team. "Cin, our team has been compromised! We still haven't secured the objectives yet! How are things on your end?"

"We're not compromised yet but there are a lot of Faunus heading towards the upper floors. I think they may be after your team. My team and I will stall them for as long as we can before we have to pull out." Cinder returned.

"More time would be nice. Just make sure you and your team are safe. You're all more important." Pyrrha changed her frequency back to her team's own. "Status?"

"Yang here. Sun and Neptune have regrouped with Neo and I. They weren't kidding, these guys have a lot of firepower. We could use some more assistance." Yang said, gunfire being heard through the scroll also.

Pyrrha grabbed her shield off her back and changed her weapon into its sword form. "Ruby, you head to the last floor and search for the intel. Jaune and I are going to assist the others. Hopefully we can find the package too. Be safe." With that, the two ran towards the stairs and proceeded to move upwards.

Ruby moved opposite of them and towards the stairs that went downwards. She carefully and silently descended the steps. When she reached the next floor, there was still no guards around to be seen. Using the vacancy to her advantage, she ran around the floor searching for the server room.

Within a minute, she found it. She entered the room and connected her scroll to one of the servers. A progress bar appeared on the small virtual screen to display the download.

"Cin to infiltration team, there were a lot of White Fang members who got past us. We disabled the elevators so at least that'll slow'em. We'll still try to stall as many as we can but I recommend to finish up the search soon and get out of there. It won't be long before this place is overrun with the White Fang." Cinder relayed.

Ruby checked the progress bar and saw it was one-fourth of the way there. "Come on, come on. Move faster." she silently said to the piece of technology.

Ruby was startled when she heard movement outside the room. She stood in complete silence to listen for any other suspicious sounds. She gulped. Having her Crescent Rose at the ready, she cautiously walked out the server room and patrolled the floor. She thoroughly scanned the floor with her eyes, not being able to find anyone.

Patrolling for two minutes, Ruby moved back inside the server room. She saw that the progress bar was full so she disconnected her scroll from the servers and headed out. "Objective is secure. I'm heading back n-"

Ruby was cut off when a gloved hand silenced her. She was pushed up against the wall. She would have retaliated if it weren't for the barrel of a weapon being pointed directly at her face. Her assaulter backed off but still kept Ruby at gunpoint.

"You..." Ruby said, referring to the man with orange hair.

"Hello Ruby. I hoped that we could've met again under better circumstances. Oh well, not everything goes to plan." Roman greeted, his Melodic Cudgel still pointed at Ruby's head. "So tell me little girl, how's my sister been doing."

"Your betrayal is affecting Neo. She's become more stressed, hostile, and depressed because of you. She believes that you can be saved and returned to our side." Ruby informed Roman.

Roman rubbed his chin with his free hand, assessing the information given to him. "Well then, what about you Ruby? Do you think the same?"

"If...if Neo believes you can be saved, then so do I." Ruby responded, desperately wanting to reach for her weapon that was sheathed on her back.

"Ah of course. Still pursuing my sister huh? Hoping to hold her in your arms? How's that going so far?" Roman had a smile on his face. Whether it was genuine or deceitful, Ruby couldn't tell which.

"It was going fine until we learned of your allegiance to the White Fang." Ruby sourly stated.

"Is that so? I'm so sorry Ruby. I didn't mean for that." Roman seemed sarcastic but yet truthful at the same time. "However, I am not the bad guy here. My goal for the White Fang is to bring equality and remove the corrupt that will deny them such. We may use brutal methods, but we are given no other choice since human society refuses to cooperate and live with Faunus."

"That can't be your only goal. There is more to this than what you're saying." Ruby argued.

"Maybe so. You and your fellow huntsmen and huntresses are getting in the way of that though." Roman pressed the barrel of his weapon against Ruby's neck. "Tell me, what do your superiors have planned? Just because I think you're nice so far, it won't change my method of interrogation. I will learn what I want to know. Now spill it." Roman threatened.

"I...I don't know what they have planned. I'm only doing what they ask for." Ruby argued.

"You're becoming a puppet for them to use. You're blind to that. Now tell me or else you won't be seeing Ne-"

Roman was punched to the side by a fiery fist. He fell onto the floor unconscious. "Ruby, are you okay?! When you were cut off from the scroll, all of us got worried." Yang asked in concern as she wrapped her arms around the younger girl.

Ruby hugged her golden sister back. "I'm fine now. Thank you Yang."

"I'll be there for you whenever possible from now on Rubes. If my friends start picking on you when I'm around, I really and truly promise I'll defend you. I'll defend you from those who'll try to hurt you." Yang assured, genuine with her words.

"I believe you Yang. We better get moving though. It won't be long before White Fang reinforcements arrive." Ruby warned.

Yang and Ruby moved to carry the unconscious Roman and move him to the upper floors. It was a little bit of a struggle for the two to carry the grown man but they managed. They regrouped with the rest of their team, who were taking cover behind a bunch of desks.

"Is...is that Roman?" Neo asked as the two girls dragged the white coat man in cover.

"Yep. Only problems now are the package and extraction." Yang answered.

"You mean this package?" Jaune rhetorically asked as he pulled a metal briefcase from behind him, a small smirk on his face. "I found it shortly before we took cover here."

"Nice! All that leaves now is extraction." Yang corrected their situation.

"How exactly are we going to get out of here though? The second we stand up, we'll all be pelted with gunfire." Neptune pointed out, firing his weapon blindly over the desk.

"We just need a distraction." Pyrrha said.

"What the hell?! Where did he come from?! Kill the Atlas pawn!" a White Fang member yelled out.

The students of Beacon Academy noticed the gunfire above their heads stopped and heard it was being directed somewhere else. They all peered their heads over their cover. They saw the White Fang firing at the doorway that led upstairs. In a brief second, they saw the Atlas pilot who dropped them off come out from cover to fire back before moving back in cover.

"There's our distraction and extraction." Sun commented.

"Then let's move! Sun and Jaune, carry Roman. The rest of us will take care of the White Fang." Pyrrha vaulted over the their cover and charged towards the unaware Faunus. She was followed by the rest of her team.

One White Fang member noticed the teens running towards them. "Hey! Who was keeping an eye on the kids!" Others turned to look. It was too late though, the trainees of the academy were already upon them. Most were forced to switch to their melee weapons for the close quarter combat that was about to ensue.

Pyrrha tossed her shield towards the back of a Faunus. It knocked him down and the shield spiraled towards the chest of another Faunus, taking him down too before returning to its owner. Pyrrha combat rolled into a group of three White Fang members. She started by swooping one of them off their feet by performing a spiral sweep kick. She stood up and parried the second Faunus's sword and bashed her shield into the third. The third fell on top of the first while the second one was taken down when Pyrrha slashed his chest a few times.

While Pyrrha moved to confront other White Fang members, Neptune knocked a few White Fang down on their fronts and backs when he released a few shots from his weapon on them. As about two Faunus charged towards him, he transformed his weapon into its trident form. He kept one Faunus at bay when he thrusted the trident towards her, forcing the Faunus to hold her block. The second Faunus moved around his partner to attempt an overhead swing with his axe. Neptune easily ducked underneath the axe but had to retract his weapon from the first Faunus as the second Faunus continuously attempted multiple swings. He clashed his weapon with the axe a few times before crouching down and thrusting the trident into the second's leg. The Faunus fell onto his face when his leg was pushed backwards, knocking him out. The first Faunus tried to stab Neptune with her two daggers. Neptune swiftly sidestepped each stab before retaliating by placing his weapon behind his neck and on his shoulders and spins himself around. The trident smacks the first Faunus right on the forehead, making her fall on her back.

While Neptune dodges attacks from nearby Faunus who weren't too pleased with his actions, four White Fang members formed a square around Ruby. The red and black clad girl observed the four, looking to see who would make the first move. Behind her, the leader of the four silently approached the girl. With his sword in his hand, he was ready to jab it into the girl's back. Just before he could, Ruby jumps to the side, making the leader miss completely. Ruby counters by using her scythe the sweep the leader's legs and making him fall hard on his back. The remaining three looked to each other with surprise before running towards the girl. All it took to take them down for Ruby was to get a little boost by propelling herself with the gun portion of her weapon and perform a spinning attack, the three Faunus getting caught in the Scythe's reach.

When Ruby slowed herself from her little launch, she was met with another four Faunus pointing their guns at her. Ruby prepared to propel herself again to avoid the gunfire. The action was not needed though when the Atlas pilot jumped from his cover and in between the four. The pilot wore the standard Atlesian soldier armor with red highlights. He pulled out his baton and simply smacked one of the four Faunus right on the back of the head. He pulled out his pistol from his holster and set it to stun mode. He shot another Faunus in the shoulder before she had time to react. The remaining two proceeded to pull out their melee weapons and charge at the Atlesian. The pilot shoulder bashed into the first one, staggering the first but not knocking him down. While the first was staggered, the pilot turned to face the second one. The two clashed their melee weapons together until the pilot overpowered the Faunus and hit the White Fang member on the ribs, then the chest, then the mask. As the second fell, the first recovered and bashed himself into the pilot's chest. The pilot fell on his back but countered by firing a stun round into the Faunus's leg. When the Faunus was forced one knee because of the stun, Ruby bashed him to side with her Crescent Rose.

The Atlas pilot picked himself up. "Are all of you okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks for assisting us." Ruby said to the pilot.

"Of course. Let's finish up here as quick as we can." the Atlas pilot suggested. Just then more Faunus surrounded the two. The pilot and Ruby stood back-to-back, ready to take on their attackers together.

Yang smirked at the eight White Fang members that were ready to assault her. "You guys want to play rough? Ok then, I won't be the one complaining." Yang pumped her Ember Celica, ready for combat. As the eight sprinted towards her, Yang shot out multiple rounds towards them. The two in front had no time to react so they were taken out quickly. The rest were able to reach Yang. The golden haired girl jumps over a White Fang who tried to grapple her and punched the Faunus onto the ground. She ducks underneath a sword and countered with a fiery uppercut. She parries another sword and punches the Faunus multiple times. A mace comes sailing towards Yang's face by one of the remaining three. She redirects the mace's destination by pushing the man's arm to the side and punches the Faunus in the face. The last two Faunus watched the girl with fear seeing as how their comrades were easily dispatched.

The two ran from Yang to search for a target that would be more suitable to them. When they saw a tri-colored girl with only a parasol as a weapon, they decided to go after the girl. Neo turned around to face her new attackers. She blinked once and the colors of her eyes switched. She held her weapon to her side, ready for what would be thrown her way. One Faunus moved to stand in front of the girl and looked down on her. The Faunus let out a little chuckle before swinging his battle axe towards Neo. There was a flash of light for the two Faunus before their vision cleared. Neo was no longer there.

"What?" the Faunus asked in confusion. When he heard a grunt of pain sound from his partner who stood behind him, he turned around, only to find Neo standing over his partner. 'Grrr..." he sounded in anger as he charged the two-colored girl. Neo opened her parasol and thrusted it towards the man, forming a little wall between them. The man pushed it aside but was met with a backflip kick by Neo, who perfectly landed on her feet and closed her parasol. The man did a spinning slash attack towards the girl, who dodged by jumping and spiraling sideways in mid-air. She landed on her feet again. The man, tired of the girl's acrobatics, let out a series of deadly and vicious swings. All of them were easily dodged by Neo. With his energy spent, Neo finished it by kicking the man on the side of the head, knocking him out.

All of the White Fang members were down, taken out by the teens and the Atlas pilot. There was a large amount of White Fang reinforcements coming up the stairs and were getting close to the floor the intruders were on. "We better get moving. Let's go. The bullhead is parked on the roof." The pilot stood by the doorway and ushered the teens and the captive in front of him. Just then, the reinforcements arrived on the floor. "Go! Hurry! I'll meet up with you all soon!" The pilot pulled out his rifle and got into cover before firing at the White Fang reinforcements.

All of them rushed up the stairs while the Atlesian bought them some time. Sun and Jaune received help from the rest of them to carry the unconscious Roman. They emerged at the roof of the building. There were multiple bullheads with the White Fang emblem on them, probably used by the Faunus that had just attacked them. There was one bullhead that had the Atlas symbol on it though so everyone made a break for it. Neo was the last teen to emerge from the stairwell. Before she could begin sprinting towards the bullhead like the rest of her peers, an arm pulled her away from the door of the stairwell and wrapped itself around her neck.

"Ack!" Neo sounded as the arm squeezed on her neck.

Ruby heard Neo and turned around. Her eyes widened when she realized Neo was being held hostage. "Let her go!" Ruby yelled towards Neo's captor, raising her weapon in its gun form and pointing it at the white clad girl.

Alpha pulled Neo in front of her to use as a shield. She shook her head 'no' and brought a knife up to Neo's neck.

The rest of the group heard Ruby yell and also turned to face Alpha. They secured Roman inside their bullhead first before moving to Ruby's side.

Alpha pressed the knife against Neo's skin as she started moving themselves towards the stairwell. Neo, helpless and scared to try anything, had no choice but to let Alpha drag her.

"Stop moving! Release her!" Ruby cried out. Her heart beated inhumanly fast. She didn't know what to do. There was nothing she could try without getting Neo's throat cut. All she could do was watch. The same went for the rest of the teens.

Alpha still was forcing Neo towards the stairwell. Soon, they would be descending the steps and be protected by the reinforcements.

However, the pilot emerged at the top of the stairwell and saw what was going on. The white clad girl was still unaware of his presence. He slowly and silently moved towards the back of the Alpha, planning to disarm her.

In unfortunate timing though, the reinforcements started yelling from down the stairwell, causing Alpha to turn and see the pilot. Alpha began to move the knife across Neo's neck in response.

Ruby, using her semblance, charged herself into Alpha. The two girls fell onto the floor due to the effect of collision.

It was too late though. Alpha had managed to slit Neo's throat.

"NEO!" Ruby got up and ran to Neo's side. Neo fell on her knees and held her neck with one hand, trying to prevent the blood loss. Ruby carried Neo by the arm and rushed her inside the bullhead, along with the rest of the team.

Alpha also got up but was confronted by the pilot. The pilot was the first to take action and attempted to hit Alpha with his baton. Alpha parried the baton with her knife and kicked the pilot in the chest. The pilot stumbled back but recovered. He then proceeded to avoid a series of fast and swift kicks from Alpha. Time was running out though and he has to get the students out of there. He countered with multiple swings with his baton, all dodged or blocked by Alpha. The pilot moved near the stairwell and avoided knife jabs that were too close for comfort. He received another kick by Alpha to the side of his head.

The White Fang reinforcements were only a few steps away from emerging at the top of the stairwell. In desperation, the pilot slammed himself into Alpha and towards the top of the staircase. The pilot stopped his acceleration, catching the railing with one hand and preventing himself from tumbling down the stairs. Alpha wasn't too lucky though and did tumble down, crashing into the reinforcements and knocking them down. The pilot, realizing he had bought himself some time, sprinted to his bullhead.

Once inside, he quickly managed to get the aerial vehicle up in the air, away from the building, and towards Beacon Academy.

In the back of the vehicle, Pyrrha contacted the academy to have a medical team and an interrogation team on standby while Yang checked in on the extraction team.

"Cin, are you and your team alright?" Yang asked the other team's leader through the scroll.

"Hey Yang. We all made it out. We're on our way to Beacon right now." Emerald answered instead.

"Emerald? Where's Cinder?" Yang questioned.

"She's unconscious right now. She was injured. It was my fault. I...I got too cocky. Cinder saved me. She took on the hits that were meant for me." Emerald said with a saddened tone.

"Damn. Neo is wounded too. That one girl dressed in all white from before was there. She managed to slice Neo's neck." Yang informed.

"Really? What the hell? Damn it." Emerald responded.

Ruby was in tears, helping Neo apply pressure to the wound. Neo was also in tears. Her life was close to being taken away from her. It was getting hard to breathe and it was very scary to see her own blood seeping onto her gloved hand. Not only that, but seeing everyone watching her with saddened eyes or ones full of tears didn't help. Especially Ruby, who was helping to try and slow the bleeding. Despite still feeling hostile towards Ruby, Neo couldn't help but gently pat the girl on the head with her free hand. She didn't want to see the younger girl like this. It was a sight that would bring depression to anyone upon seeing it.

The pilot was pushing the bullhead to its limit, trying to get Neo to the medical team as soon as possible. "We'll be there soon. I promise." he assured, pushing the control stick of the aircraft as far as it could go.

He did not lie. He got the students to the academy within three minutes. Everyone disembarked from the bullhead, Roman and the package were given to Ironwood's soldiers and Neo to the medical team.

Ruby wanted to stay by Neo's side but couldn't again. The medics requested for no disturbances. However, they did assure the rest of the group that upon quick examination, Neo's jugular was unharmed and she would have a high chance of survival. It granted some peace to all of them. They also said they would have another medical team ready to tend to Cinder.

"She'll be fine. Don't worry, she's in good hands." The Atlas pilot assured from behind the group. "I'm sorry guys."

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?" Yang asked, turning to face the pilot.

"I think it's my fault that we were compromised. The building's security systems must have detected us long before I enabled the stealth drive. It's my fault your friends are injured." the pilot censured himself, both heads holding the top of his helmet in self-disappointment.

"Listen, what's your name?" Yang continued to ask.

"Uh...Sanguine." the pilot answered, removing his hands from his helmet.

Yang rested her hands on the side of her waist. "Well San, everyone makes mistakes. It happens all the time. However, no matter how much a person dwells on it, it won't become any better. The best thing to do is accept it for what it is and try your best to do better again next time. Ok?"

"Yeah...yeah. I think you're right about that. I'll do my best next time." Sanguine accepted. "Anyways, I should probably report to my commanding officer. I hope things go well for all of you." he said as he walked away.

Yang waved goodbye before turning towards her sister, who was still crying over Neo. She took Ruby in her arms. "Ruby, you heard the medics and Sanguine. She's gonna be fine. Please, cheer up."

Ruby sniffed a couple of time before gently pushing her sister away. "I...I need to be alone. I'm sorry." With that, Ruby turned her back on Yang, Pyrrha, and her friends and walked away.

Before Yang could chase after her, Sun stopped her by putting out an arm in Yang's path. "Just let her be for now. We'll talk to her later."

Yang hesitantly nodded. The rest of them decided to wait for the arrival of the distraction team.

Ruby walked towards her dorm. She planned to just hop in bed and stay there for a while. The second she learns she could visit Neo, she would jump at the opportunity. Right now though, her mind was filled with three things: sadness, affliction, and revenge.

**A/N: Hey readers, wanted to thank all of you again for the support. I felt like crap while typing this so I apologize if it isn't as good as it possibly could be. By the time I type the next chapter, I'll probably be feeling much better. As always, thanks for reading.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey readers. Just wanted to make a note saying that I lied from last chapter concerning me feeling much better while typing this chapter. Quite the opposite in fact. Being sick does not bode well for anybody. Still, I would like to stay dedicated to releasing a chapter once a week. I hate to disappoint. With the negative out of the way, I would like to say that all of your support means a lot and even some criticism I received was insightful as well. Thank you all.**

**Have I ever told you all how much I love Ruby x Neo?(**_**Cookies and Cream**_** is the ship name I stand by. **_**Strawberry Sundae**_** is cool too though.) I'm just freaking addicted to it. It would be my OTP as others would say. I'm so glad I got into it. I hope that other people get into this pairing too. For now though, I'll just have to try my best to make that happen.**

**Also, I would like to point out that Neo is the same height as Ruby in this story for certain reasons that may or may not appear in future updates. As always, thanks for reading.**

**Chapter 8**

_Two Days Later_

"Ruby, get out of bed and get ready for class would you?" Yang asked of a grumpy Ruby.

Ruby turned in her bed while hiding underneath her bed sheets. "No." she simply stated.

"Come on, you've stayed in this room for the entire weekend. It's time to go do something." Yang continued, gently tugging on Ruby's bedsheets to reveal the girl.

"Just tell them I'm sick. It's not like anyone would miss me." Ruby retorted, pulling back the sheets over her head.

Yang held her own forehead with one hand. "Ruby, don't be like that. I miss you and so do your friends. Please get up for them and me."

Ruby remained silent for a couple of seconds before releasing an annoyed sigh. "Fine."

Ruby threw her blankets off of her, hopped out of bed, and grabbed her school uniform from the nearby drawer. She also grabbed a towel and walked into the dorm's bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her. She twisted the shower handle, letting warm water release out from the shower head.

Ruby removed her sleepwear and hopped into the warm, running water. She rested her head against the wall as she let the soothing hot water rain on her bare skin. She breathed heavily, venting out her stress.

The only thing she looked forward to for today was that she would be able visit Neo, who was currently recovering from her neck injury in the medical wing of the academy. She would definitely stop by after classes were over.

The young girl pushed her head off against the wall as she proceeded to cleanse her body with soap and shampoo. Within a few minutes, she was out of the shower and drying herself off with the towel. She dressed up, brushed her teeth, gathered her sleepwear and towel, and walked out the bathroom. She wasn't surprised to find that her team had already left the dorm. She let out another annoyed sigh before folding both her sleepwear and towel and neatly setting them on top of her bed. She grabbed her bag off of her desk and exited the room, heading to her Dust Studies class.

It didn't take her long to enter the classroom. As usual, it was back to all the bullying. The insults fell upon Ruby once again by her fellow peers. She ignored all of it though, not in the slightest mood to deal with any of it. Luckily, insults were the only thing thrown in the girl's way as they did not want to get in trouble and end up like Sky Lark and the other student from last class.

When the class started, the teacher instructed them that they were just going to work on their projects for the duration of the class. Everyone except Ruby did so since the girl had finished the research and left the crystals at Neo's house. She pulled her red headphones out from her bag and connected it to her scroll. She put it on her head and scrolled through the digital screen to find a song to play. Thankfully for her, the teacher didn't mind as long as it didn't disrupt or disturb the class.

She then found the song she loved and never got tired of no matter how many times she listened to it over and over again. She tapped the screen and then proceeded to put the scroll in her pocket and pull out a clear piece of paper out of her bag. She set it on her desk and started drawing on it to pass the time while listening to her favorite music.

_'They see you as small and helpless;  
>They see you as just a child.<em>

_Surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild._

_Prepare for your greatest moments;  
>Prepare for your finest hour.<br>The dream that you've always dreamed is suddenly about to flower.'_

Those words of the song empowered Ruby. She felt that it perfectly described the way her life would go. That all of the suffering she's faced would pay off soon. No more suffering. No more pain. No more being treated as an outcast. Everyone will discover the true hero she could be. Then, only then, would everyone realize their mistakes and would try and atone for their wrongdoings. Then at last, Ruby could finally achieve true happiness. Until then, the girl would sketch a drawing of a huntsman fighting against Grimm in a Dust Studies class.

Nothing else much happened to Ruby for the duration of the class. She was actually surprised everyone was doing their work and not bothering her in any way. Time flied by for her and then the next thing she knew, class was over. She packed her things and headed out.

At the door though, she accidentally bumps into Mercury as the two both tried to pass through the doorway at the same time.

"Hey, watch it." Mercury commented on their encounter.

"Your fault." Ruby incriminated, not meeting Mercury's eyes and only looking ahead.

Mercury was confused by the girl's reply. Normally, if something like this occurred between the two, the young girl would either apologize or run off. This was new. "M...my fault? For trying to get past the doorway?"

Ruby could be heard breathing through her nose. "Yes. That is your fault. You know what else is your fault? You ruining the small chance I had to make things right with Neo." Ruby's tone was different, just like her actions. She was being stern and straightforward.

_'What's up with this girl? Why is she so weird? Also, what the hell did I do? I didn't ruin any chances.'_ Mercury questioned in his head. "What are you talking about? I didn't ruin anything. Besides, it's not like you had a chance with Neo at all."

"Liar!" Ruby bursted, finally meeting Mercury's eyes. "You stopped me from being there for Neo during the questioning that one night we discovered her brother was with the White Fang! She's angry at me for not being there! She wouldn't be angry towards me if she didn't care, which means I did had a chance with her! You should be the one Neo's angry at! Not me!"

Mercury was now really confused. "Wha...are you stupid or something? I didn't stop you. I thought you ditched out or something." he explained.

Ruby was now fueled with anger but also in a state of confusion. "Th...then who else?! Emerald?!" Ruby accused.

"No. Neither could Cinder. They couldn't have. They were right next to me when I entered the meeting room. The two were at my side the whole time." Mercury explained and defended the two accused.

"Then who else told the guard to stop me and my friends?! My friends definitely didn't do it. Blake, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren don't really care about my friends and I. Weiss and Cinder may be annoyed by us, but not as much as you and Emerald." Ruby uttered.

Mercury shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I know for certain it wasn't me though. Next time Ruby, make sure you check your facts first before you go accuse someone." Mercury walked past the doorway, leaving a conflicted Ruby behind.

_'If...if it wasn't Mercury, then who else?'_ Ruby exhaled a breath of disappointment due to the lack of answer to her question. She proceeded to pass through the doorway and walked towards her next class, having an apathy concerning today's lessons.

...

Neo was laying down on the medical bed, dressed in the patient robes and covered up with a blanket. She was using her scroll to pass the time while she waited for the doctor to come in with the results. She was anxious to discover what the results said. It was already worrying that the doctor told her not to speak at all until she was given the go-ahead.

On her scroll, she texted all of her friends that she was fine and that they should visit if they get the chance. She set her scroll down beside her and stared at the ceiling, becoming impatient. She non-consciously tapped her fingers on the bed.

The doctor then entered the room, a couple of files and papers in his arms. "Well Neo, I got good news and bad news. The good news is that you'll be out of that bed within a week. Then you can resume with life. The bad news is that you're going to have to resume it differently than from what you're used to."

Neo formed a confused face as she sat up from the bed. _'Wha...what does he mean differently than from what I'm used to?'_ She wanted to speak, but she still hasn't been given the go-ahead to do so.

"I'm sure you have questions concerning about what I mean. Try looking at these first." The doctor handed Neo some x-rays of her neck. The doctor pointed to the area that was cut. "You were very fortunate to survive. Had that cut been a centimeter deeper, you would have drowned in your own blood." He then pointed to another x-ray. "This one is the recovery of your neck. Everything looks fine. The bad news though is that I'm afraid you won't be speaking for a while. Or possibly at all."

Neo's eyes widened. She would have defied the doctor and talked, but the doctor pointed out critical information before she did.

"I wouldn't recommend talking. It could undo your recovery and reopen your wound. Then, you could drown in your own blood if there aren't any medics around to patch it up." the doctor explained, grabbing the x-rays from Neo.

Neo was perplexed, watching the doctor without blinking and mouth slightly open agape. She could not believe what she was hearing. _'I...I...I...I may never talk again?'_

"I'm sorry. We tried our best. Just remember, there is a chance that you'll be able to talk again. Just hold on to that. I'm sure that chance will pull through. Until then, just come back from time to time so we can do an analysis on you. We'll determine whether you'll be able to talk or not." the doctor recommended. "I'll leave you be now. At least you can get a lot of rest now." The doctor then left the room.

Neo gripped her hair, stressing out over the revelation. She started crying, though only tears flowed and no sound from her. While she cried, she also hoped in her mind that she would be able to talk again. She wanted to know the answer, now. She knew she wouldn't be getting though. She would have to suffer in silence. The silence eating away at her and she was incapable to do anything about it.

Neo laid back down on the bed, now holding her forehead in stress. She would have to find different means of communication. Right now though, she didn't want to deal with it. She rolled onto her side and curled up into a ball. She wiped the remaining wetness from her eyes before closing them. Finding peace in her rest.

...

Mercury joined his friends in the cafeteria. Yang, Blake, Weiss, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, and Emerald sat at their usual table. Mercury set his tray of food down and sat next to Emerald. "Cinder's not out yet?" he asked.

Emerald shook her head. "No. She's going to be released today though. Thank goodness. I'm glad she's alright."

Mercury tore off a piece of bread and stuffed it in his mouth. He chewed a could of time before swallowing it. "You still thinking it was your fault?"

"Of course it was my fault. I let myself get surrounded by those White Fang. If Cinder didn't intervene, she wouldn't have been injured because of me." Emerald felt sorrow.

"True, but you would have been more injured or worse, dead if Cinder hadn't intervened. It already happened Emerald. Now, try to make the best out of it. Show Cinder appreciation or something when she is released." Mercury proceeded to drink his carton of milk.

"I think I know how I can. After Cinder is released, we gonna visit Neo? Her texts said that we should come by." Emerald pointed out.

Mercury made a hum sound as he drank the milk. He set it down on the table. "Yeah, we'll visit Neo. While we're on the topic..." Mercury turned to face the others at the table. "...I encountered Ruby earlier. Turns out she and the other nerds didn't come to Neo's questioning because someone told the guards to keep them out. She thought I was the one who did it. It was weird. I've never seen the girl be so angry. Anyone has something to say?"

Everyone looked to each other, seeing if anyone had a response. No one spoke.

Mercury sighed. "Well whoever did made the nerd really upset. Ruby seemed to fully believe she had a chance with Neo. She claims her chance is ruined now because of someone. She seemed furious, yet dejected at the same time."

A sigh came from someone at the table. Heads turned to face the direction the sound came from, all eyes landing on Yang.

"It...it was me. I told the guards to keep them out." Yang admitted, seemingly regretting her decision about telling the guards.

"What? Why?" Pyrrha questioned, setting down her food to concentrate on Yang's answer.

"I thought it would have the right decision. I wanted Ruby to move on from Neo and find someone else to make her happy. By having Ruby move on from Neo, she would stay away from us and in return, you guys can't insult or ignore her. When Neo yelled at Ruby, I was hoping Ruby would lose her interest in Neo. Now...now I've made things worse for both of them." Yang explained, fists glued to the table.

"Do you plan on telling Ruby that?" Blake asked.

"How could I? If I tell her, she'll hate me." Yang argued.

Pyrrha stood up. "Yang, I'm sorry to say this, but you aren't being a very good sister to Ruby. You tried to take away what made the girl happy. Mercury said she was furious and dejected. The Ruby I know would never be angry. She would stay very kind despite the crap she's given. You changed her Yang in a bad way." Pyrrha lectured, causing Yang to look down and regret her decision.

Pyrrha turned to the rest of her table. "As for the rest of you, you should all be ashamed. You either hurt Ruby, Jaune, Sun, and Neptune through physical means, words, or pretending they don't exist. They are people just like us, but you guys treat them as outcasts. How would you all like to be ignored and hurt by the people who are supposed to be your partners and friends?"

"What about you? Don't pretend your not guilty yourself." Nora mentioned.

"Not anymore. When I first met them, I did. When I saw how they stand strong above all the negatives they're given, I realized my lack of respect for them was wrong. Since then, I've been treating them nicely. You all should do the same." Pyrrha sat back down and continued to eat her food.

"You...you're defending them?" Mercury asked.

"Yes. It's what we should have done in the first place." Pyrrha simply answered.

The entire table sat in silence. Tensions were high and all of them were mentally questioning their actions and decisions. Some started to regret. Others stuck to their actions and felt no regret.

...

_Four Hours Later_

Ruby was on her way to the medical wing. She had stopped by her dorm earlier to wear her usual attire. Now, she smiled as she thought about seeing Neo again. When she entered the medical wing, she had a nurse direct her to the room Neo was in.

Ruby made her way towards Neo's room. In a few minutes, the only thing in between her and Neo was the wooden door. Ruby reached for the handle. Before she could, the handle turned itself. Two people exited Neo's room and shut the door behind them. Ruby was surprised to see who the two were.

"Mr. and Mrs. Torchwick! I'm so sorry about what happened to your daughter. Did anyone tell you both what happened?"

Vanilla and Titian both had tears in their eyes. Vanilla was too sad to say anything so Titian spoke. "We know that a girl identified as Alpha did the damage. That's all they told us."

"It's...it's my fault too. I was there. I couldn't prevent it in time. I'm so sorry." Ruby apologized, looking down to her boots.

"N...no Ruby. It...wasn't y...y...your fault." Vanilla said in between crying. "N...Neo wrote to us th...that if you d...didn't intervene, she would have been d...d...dead. Y...you tried your best."

"Honey, I think it's best to return home and rest. We'll visit again tomorrow." Titian suggested to his wife while hugging her. Vanilla nodded. "Goodbye Ruby. Thank you for saving our daughter. We'll never be able to repay the favor." Titian concluded. The married couple proceeded to leave the medical wing.

Ruby watched them leave and then focused her sights back on the wooden door. She gulped and reached for the metal handle, hand shaking. She turned the handle and opened it, followed by walking inside and closing the door.

Neo was surprised to see Ruby. She expected Ruby to come visit her sometime later, but she thought it would be her friends who would come first. Other than her parents, Ruby was the first one to visit.

"H...hi." Ruby nervously greeted.

Neo waved hello in response.

Ruby grabbed a nearby chair and set it down next to the bed. Then proceeding to sit on the chair herself. "You feeling better?"

Neo reached for the pencil and the notebook beside her. She wrote something on the notebook and then made Ruby read it. _'Hi Ruby. My neck has recovered, but for the time being and possibly for the rest of my life, I can't speak.'_

Ruby was shocked by the information given to her. "You...you can't talk because of your injury?" Ruby took on a sorrow expression. Neo nodded a yes. "I'm...I'm so sorry Neo. I wish there was something I could do. I should have stopped Alpha earlier so she couldn't have cut your neck." Ruby took one of Neo's hands in hers and gripped it firmly.

Neo grew a small, sad smile. She removed her hand from Ruby's grip and gently rubbed the young girl's head. She then wrote on her notebook again, Ruby waiting a minute to see Neo's response. Neo showed what she had wrote to Ruby again. _'You did what you could have done. Saving my life is enough. I will always be grateful for that. Although not being able to speak really sucks, there's nothing I can do about it.'_

Despite Neo's words, Ruby still felt she could have done something else. "Even still, I never wanted you to get hurt."

Neo looked at Ruby weirdly. Ruby had abandoned her during the questioning. Neo was beginning to think of Ruby as a hypocrite. However, she wasn't in the mood to bring up that topic right now. Instead, she wrote, _'Did I miss anything important while I was in recovery?'_

"No." Ruby answered. She looked down. "But I missed you."

Neo felt bad for the young girl. Before she could write anything to Ruby, her friends walked in.

"What are doing here?" Mercury asked, referring to Ruby.

"What does it look like? I've come to visit Neo. Is there a problem with that?" Ruby stood up to confront the group that entered.

"Corrupting Neo with your weirdness." Mercury insulted.

"And you're corrupting her with your appalling behavior you stupid jerk." Ruby insulted back, folding her arms across her chest.

_'Ruby?'_ Neo had thought. She was astounded by what Ruby and just said. She was never a person to insult back. Especially back to Mercury.

"Oh my, the little girl is expressing her feelings." Mercury replied in a mocking tone. "Here's the thing Ruby, I don't care about you think of me you freak."

Ruby's hands formed into fists and she gritted her teeth. Neo noticed this. _'Ruby, why are you like this?'_ Neo thought in her head again.

"You know Mercury, I don't know if you were telling me the truth earlier. If you truly were, it doesn't change the fact that you're a terrible person. You and everyone else are not better than me." Ruby then got a text from her scroll. She pulled it out of her pocket and saw it was from Jaune. He was telling her to come over to Professor Ozpin's office right now as Ozpin has something important for them.

Ruby looked to Neo with sad eyes. She barely got to spend time with the girl. She put her scroll back in her pocket and sighed. "I have to go." she said silently. Ruby slid past the group and exited the room.

Pyrrha moved over to Mercury and smacked him on the back of the head, giving a look of disapproval.

Neo was now really wondering why Ruby is acting the way she is. However, she would have to think about it another time as her friends are already asking her questions.

...

Ruby made her way to Ozpin's office. When she arrived, she found that her friends were already there. They were standing just a few meters away from the front of Ozpin's desk. Ruby joined by their side and watched the man sitting at his desk.

"Glad the four of you could make it. Why I called the four of you here today concerns the proposal the four of you came to me with. I would like to say that I have found a trained huntress to assist you four on your patrols and a pilot who'll gladly give all of you rides. Before I go on, are sure you four want to take this on? You'll be starting tomorrow if you do and some of your missions will take you outside the city's walls." Ozpin informed the four.

The four friends looked to each other to acknowledge their answer. "Yes Professor. We still want to do this. Besides, at least it'll give a little boost in our training." Ruby answered.

"Very well then." Ozpin said with a small smile. "Allow me to introduce to you your pilot." Ozpin gestured the four to look at one side of the room. On that side of the room, a man wearing the standard Atlesian combat suit with red highlights walked forward.

"Hey guys, remember me?" the Atlas soldier asked.

"Sanguine?" Jaune asked.

"Yep. I volunteered for the position. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about what the four of you are doing." Sanguine assured.

The four nodded their heads in approval.

"Glad to see you are at an agreement. Next, let me introduce to you your highly skilled huntress." Ozpin pointed to the other side of the room. A woman wearing a white cloak with a red interior stepped forward. Her outfit almost resembled Ruby's except the color scheme was white and red instead of black and red.

Ruby gasped, not expecting the woman who stepped forward to approve of this. "M...mom?!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"M...mom?!" Ruby yelled out at the sight of her mother.

"Hi Ruby." Summer Rose greeted, a mother's smile on her face upon seeing her daughter.

"You...you approve of this? You...you...I haven't..." Ruby couldn't find the words to say.

Summer didn't respond to Ruby's lack of words. Instead, she walked over to Ruby, kneeled to slightly match Ruby's height, and embraced her daughter with a tight hug. "It's been too long my sweet daughter."

Ruby was more than happy to return the hug. It was her mother of course. A mother she loved and hadn't seen for three years. She gently sobbed into Summer's cloak. Summer herself was at tears, crying with a smile as she is finally reunited with her daughter.

Everyone in the room were touched by the event that was currently occurring in the room. They thought it best to remain silent for the time being.

"You...you finally came back. Does...does that mean you're done with your mission?" Ruby asked as she met her mother's equally wet eyes.

"Yes. My mission is finally over. Now I have two new missions. One, being a mentor to you and your friends. Two, never leaving you again." Summer let known.

The two slowly broke apart from their embrace. Summer stood back up, standing about a head and a half higher than Ruby. Ruby wiped away her remaining tears. "Seriously though, you approve of this?"

Summer gently rubbed the top of Ruby's head, slightly messing up her daughter's hair. "Ozpin informed me of everything I missed for the past three years. I know what has come upon you and your friends. I'm sorry Ruby. I wish I was there for you. I know that I couldn't have known while I was out so now, I'll always be here for you."

"So you understand what we've been through then?" Jaune asked.

"Yes I do. I want to thank you three for being there for my daughter when I couldn't." Summer gave Ruby's friends a hug.

"Of course Mrs. Rose...uh...I mean, Ms. Rose. Sorry." Jaune apologized, remembering about the time Ruby told him that her mother and father split from each other.

Summer looked down with a smile and made a small chuckle before looking back up. "It's okay. Just call me Summer."

"Now that we are all acquainted, I should let you know that your first mission starts in the morning, before light." Ozpin stated.

"That early?" Neptune asked.

"I'm sorry to let you know on such short notice, but there is something stirring outside the city walls. It appears the Grimm are gathering somewhere out there. I don't know what is going on, but you need to go and gather information. If possible, try to disrupt whatever is happening. If you can't, just report in and I'll see if I can get Atlas forces to deal with it. You all should get as much rest as you can right now." Ozpin relayed the group's orders.

The newly formed group made their way to the elevator to exit Ozpin's office. Before Ruby could step into the elevator, Ozpin stops her.

"Summer, mind if I steal your daughter for a minute or so? I need to discuss something with her." he asked politely.

Summer nodded. "I'll meet you in the lobby Ruby."

Ruby nodded to her mother and the elevator doors closed, leaving Ozpin and Ruby alone. "So what did you what to discuss professor?"

"Are you happy to see your mother?" Ozpin asked, sitting back down in his seat.

"Of course I am! I missed her so much!" Ruby suddenly bursted out in joy. "When she was called in for her mission, I was sick with worry for many weeks. I eventually got used to it, but still made me uneasy from time to time. Seeing her again though right now after three years..." Tears grew in Ruby's eyes again. "It...it just puts my mind at rest. I can finally hug her again. Listen to her voice again. Spend time with her again."

A smile formed on the professor's face. "I'm glad that's so. You know, your mother was still supposed to be doing her mission right now. It took me a couple of strings to pull to make sure her mission ended early to get her to come here." Ozpin revealed, turning his seat around to look out the window.

"Y...you got her home early?" Ruby rhetorically asked, moving to Ozpin's side. "T...thank you professor. I don't understand something though. Why are you being so helpful to my friends and I? We haven't done anything for your assistance."

"Well Ruby, I've learned many things while I was a huntsman in training. I've made mistakes, just like anyone else. What makes a difference though are those who use their mistakes to learn. I've learned to always assist others, even if you are given no recognition. That has gotten me through many hardships I faced when the time came. That, and I also owe your mother some favors. Helping you is one way to repay her." Ozpin taught. He then stood up. "Well, I think I kept you away from your mother long enough. Good luck on your mission Ruby. I hope you and the rest of your group remain safe." Ozpin extended his hand out to Ruby.

Ruby shook the professor's hand. "Thank you professor. We'll exercise great caution." The girl then ran to the elevator and pushed the button to go down.

Ozpin was left alone standing in his office. He smiled for the girl before turning back towards the window. "Don't worry Ruby. The time will come when you and your friends will finally be respected by your peers. It certainly did for me."

...

The elevator doors opened to Ruby, revealing to her a waiting mother. "Where's everyone else?"

"Oh, they said they would get some rest since the mission is very early in the morning." Summer answered. "We should probably get as much rest as we can too." Ruby had a look of disappointment on her face at hearing this. "Something wrong sweetie?" her mother asked upon noticing this.

"No, nothing's wrong. I just...just wanted to spend some time with Neo." Ruby answered, hands behind her back, head down, and feet kicking at non-existent rocks on the floor.

Summer raised a hand to her chin, trying to remember the names and descriptions of people Ruby has been associated with. "Neo...Neo...Neo...ah! Neo is the pink, brown, and white girl right?" Summer asked, remembering. Ruby nodded. "I see. So, who is Neo? Your girlfriend?"

Instantly, Ruby's face turned red at embarrassment. "M...mom! Why do you assume she is my girlfriend? How did you...you know...figure out my...my preference."

"Your friends make enjoyable conversations." Summer hinted.

_'Those knuckleheads. How dare they?'_ Ruby thought, though she wasn't mad. "She's just a friend mom."

"It's not that simple honey. You want to be something more with her." Summer stated. "Your friends told me how you talk about Neo. How you react with Neo. How you were like when Neo was hurt. I think it is a lot more to you than what you say it is."

Ruby winced at the thought of seeing Neo's neck being cut.

"We could visit her if you want." Summer offered.

"It's fine. Her friends are probably still with her anyways. I don't want to deal with them. I'll find time to visit her before we go though." Ruby walked closer to her mom.

"If you think that is best." Summer wrapped her arm around the back of Ruby's shoulders. "Before we go to sleep though, we have a lot of catching up to do."

Hearing this, a wide smile grew on Ruby's face.

_One Hour Later_

Both Summer and Ruby were sitting on the floor of Team RWBY's dorm, laughing.

"So then, Neptune had to dance because he lost the bet. Man, it was priceless." Ruby continued on, proceeding to hold her sides and resume laughing.

Summer raised one set of her fingertips to her lips, silently chuckling. It took the two about a minute for their laughs to die down.

"But yeah, my friends are great. I'm glad they're in my life." Ruby concluded.

Summer nodded in agreement. If it weren't for Sun, Neptune, and Jaune, her daughter would have been leading a dark, miserable life. A few seconds of silence ensued between mother and daughter until Summer broke it. "How's Yang and your father doing? Have they been treating you alright?"

"Oh, they've been doing alright I guess. Dad's sends presents sometimes from home. Yang, well, she's been doing fine for herself. Surrounded by friends, becoming a better huntress, being cool, all stuff like that." Ruby said while looking down on the floor, questioning herself about asking her mother about something concerning her father.

"Oh, that's nice." Summer simply commented.

"So, um...Mom?" Ruby asked. Summer made a questioning hum sound. "Are you and dad ever going to...to get back together?"

Summer reached out and placed a hand on Ruby's cheek, adopting a soft expression. "Sorry Ruby, I don't think we will. Your father and I...we're just no longer compatible. We don't love each other anymore. Don't let that affect you though. Just because I don't love your father anymore doesn't mean I love you any less. You are and always will be my daughter and this time, I will be here for you."

Ruby smiled. "I love you too mom." she said, holding back her tears.

Summer hugged her daughter tight. "For three years, I left you alone. For three years, I couldn't show you a kindness everyone deserves. For three years, I missed you. Now...now we're together. I will make it all up to you Ruby. Nothing will keep us apart."

"I'm glad you're coming with us." Ruby told her mother, referring to the mission.

"Ah that reminds me." Summer broke the hug and grabbed her bag. She dug into her bag. "It's going to be cold outside so..." Summer pulled out a pair of black and red gloves and a lower half black face mask and handed it to her daughter. "...you'll be needing this. Don't want us getting sick now do we."

"Oh what?! Mom...you're seriously doing this type of thing immediately? After three years?" Ruby joked about her mom being...a mom.

Summer chuckled. "Don't worry honey. I got your friends some clothing too. Wouldn't want them to be left out."

Ruby only face palmed, a large smile on her face. "Whatever you say mom. I'm gonna grab some sleep now. I plan on visiting Neo before we go." Ruby stood up and hopped into her bed, too lazy to go and change.

Summer stood up and walked over to her daughter's bed. She then brushed her daughter's hair. "Sweet dreams Ruby." She continued to brush Ruby's hair until the young girl fell asleep. Once Ruby was asleep, Summer kissed the top of her forehead before leaving the dorm and towards the medical wing.

...

Neo laid impatiently in the bed. She wanted to get out already but she still had several days to go before she would be released. It also annoyed her that she couldn't talk. She wanted to hear herself sigh, or cry, or anything of the sort. She couldn't make a sound though. Not one.

She got all stressed just knowing that fact. She didn't want to think about going through the rest of her life without talking. It was slowly eating away at her. An annoyance she couldn't do anything about. There was no point in crying about it though now. It was pointless too. It wasn't going to change anything.

Neo broke away from her thoughts when there was a knock on her room door. A few seconds afterwards, a woman walked inside. She was wearing a white cloak. Neo was confused as she had never seen this lady before. _'Who is this person? Have we met before. Why does she look like...like...'_

"Sorry for the sudden intrusion. You don't know me but I wanted to meet the person who captured my daughter's...never mind that. Anyways, I'm Summer Rose. I believe you know my daughter, Ruby Rose. Professor Ozpin has told me about you." Summer grabbed a chair and sat beside the bed.

_'Wait, this...this is Ruby's mom? Huh. Guess that's why she looks like Ruby.'_ Neo thought. She searched for her notebook and pencil around her bed. She grabbed the two and began writing on the notebook. _'It's nice to meet you. I don't mean to sound rude but why are you here?'_ she wrote.

Summer read the note and smiled at the multi-colored girl. "Oh, I um...am visiting for Ruby. She has important things to attend to so she was very disappointed she couldn't come by."

Neo listened very carefully to Ruby's mother. She continued to write on the notebook. _'Is that so? Well next time you see Ruby, can you tell her to visit whenever she can? It gets lonely here sometimes. Even my friends said they have important things to take care of.'_

Summer gave an apologetic look, saddening Neo as she realizes it's not going to happen. "Sorry Neo. Ruby is going to be very busy though. She can't help it. What I can assure though is that she cares about you deeply. She would visit you the second she knows she is available."

Neo felt disappointed inside. She actually wanted Ruby to spend time with her. Neo shook her head at herself. Now she was being the hypocrite. Still, Neo was grateful to Summer for informing her about the situation. _'Thank you for letting me know.' _she wrote.

Summer observed Neo's face for a few seconds. "You know, I think I can see why my daughter likes you so much." Summer was smirking.

_'You think? Why do you think Ruby likes me a lot?'_ Neo asked in her note.

Summer shook her head no. "That Neo, is something you should figure out for yourself."

Neo made a silent sigh. _'I suppose so. Since you're here though, I have some questions about Ruby if you don't mind. I would like to know about her. Why she is the way she is. Understand her better so that I can be nicer to her.'_ Neo wrote.

Summer nodded. "Ask away."

...

Ruby awoke at four in the morning. The sun was still down and would be like that for another three hours. Ruby quickly went to cleanse her hygiene and proceeded to put on the mask and gloves her mother gave to her. She grabbed her traveling bag and snuck out of the dorm, leaving her team members undisturbed.

Ruby got a text to meet up at the front in about half an hour. She made her way to the medical wing, wanting to visit Neo one last time before she would not be seeing her for a while. Once inside, she walked to Neo's room and entered it silently.

Neo was peacefully sleeping in her bed, clueless to Ruby walking in. Ruby smiled at the sight. She didn't want to wake up Neo though so she grabbed Neo's notebook and pencil. She glanced at Neo a few times to savor the peaceful sight before writing her note.

_'Dear Neo, I'm going to be going away for a while along with my friends. We've had enough of the way we're treated by everyone at this place. We just need to get away from it all for a bit you know? I think that this best. What I don't look forward to is how much I'll be missing you. So yeah, I'll miss you. In fact, I already miss you. I wish for you that you'll be able to talk again. I want to hear your beautiful voice again. Take care Neo. I'll be seeing you as soon as I can. Yours truly, Ruby.'_ She set the notebook and the pencil on the table that was beside Neo's bed.

Ruby leaned over Neo's bed, face close to Neo's own. Ruby smiled and placed her lips on Neo's forehead. Her lips lingered for a bit as Ruby savored the moment. She then removed her lips from Neo's forehead. Although Neo wasn't awake, a smile formed on her sleeping face. Ruby backed away from the bed and walked towards the door. She opened it, but turned towards Neo before she walked out. "I'll be back for you Neo. I promise." Ruby whispered. She then walked out and closed the door behind her. She sighed and headed to the front of the academy, ready for her mission.

By the time she reached the front, Sanguine and Neptune were already there waiting.

"Hey Ruby. Nice mask." Neptune commented on his friend's added clothing.

"Thanks. Hey Sanguine. Thanks for doing this for us." Ruby greeted.

"No problem Ruby. I'm glad to be of assistance." Sanguine responded.

"Do your superiors know about this though? Can't you get in trouble for this?" Neptune pointed out in concern.

"I'm friends with them. Should anything go wrong, they'll pull through for me. Besides, I'm supposed to be on vacation time right now so no one will be needing me. Right now, I'm your personal pilot. Should be fun." he explained. He scratched the back of his helmet. "So...how's that one girl doing. What's her name...N...Neo. Yes, that's it. Is Neo doing okay?"

"Oh, she's recovered. She may not be able to talk for the time being though. Don't worry about it though. If I know Neo, she's a strong person. She'll be just fine." Ruby said.

The pilot nodded. "Good, good. That's good to know."

Neptune placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder in assurance. "We'll be back before you know it Ruby. Besides, it's a break we need."

"True that. Hey Neptune, I just wanted to thank you for being my friend. You could have easily abandoned Jaune and I and gone with all the others. Instead, you chose to be with us. You and Sun." Ruby expressed her gratitude.

Neptune smiled and patted the top of Ruby's cloaked head. "And thank you for being an awesome friend. You're right, I could have left you for the others. The thing is though, you're much cooler than all those others. You, Jaune, and Sun are much better people to hang out with. If you sent me back in time for a chance to change that, I wouldn't. I would make the same decision no matter how many chances I'm given. I'll always choose you three."

The three were joined by Jaune, Sun, and Summer immediately afterwards. "You guys ready to go on an adventure?" Sun asked, seemingly pumped.

"Yep. Let's get going." Sanguine hopped into his bullhead and started it up. "Get comfortable lads. We've got a bit of time before we get to the coordinates Ozpin gave us. Just sit back and enjoy the flight." The pilot pressed multiple buttons. The doors of the bullhead closed when everyone was aboard. Everyone took their seats aboard the ship, taking Sanguine's recommendation.

"Hey you three, here you go. It'll be cold where we're going." Summer reached inside her bag, pulled out clothing, and tossed pieces to Ruby's friends. Jaune was given a full leather helmet. He put it on, only leaving his eyes exposed underneath the helmet. Sun was given a sweater to wear instead of his usual opened up shirt along with a black beanie. Neptune was given a light blue scarf along with a light blue beanie.

"Cool. Thanks Summer." Jaune said. He really liked the helmet. He thought it looked cool on him.

"See? They like it." Summer whispered to Ruby.

"Yeah, yeah mother." Ruby said, crossing her arms and smiling underneath her mask.

"Ok, ship's warmed up." Sanguine let known. The bullhead took off and flew in the air. "Alright. Our destination: outside the city walls and potentially a lot of Grimm."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Quick note here to tell you all that from now on, words in **_**italics**_** and ****underlined**** mean that Neo(or just anybody) is writing a note. Ex: **_'Neo's note.'_** Words only in **_**italics **_**means a character is in thought. Just wanted to point that out.**

**Chapter 10**

Neo had woken up just three minutes ago. Sunlight lit up the room and provided a feeling of warmth and comfort within the room. Neo read the note that was written her notebook. Reading through it, it made her feel a sense of guilt and sadness. She was one of the many people to contribute the suffering of Ruby and her group. Not only that, but Ruby didn't seem to blame her at all in the note. Ruby only expressed her feelings for Neo again.

Neo couldn't believe how persistent the girl was. Many people thought of her persistence as creepy, including Neo. Now though, Neo was starting to admire it. Not many people are ever so focused on one thing. Neo was starting to feel honored that Ruby was so focused on her.

She wouldn't be receiving Ruby's attention for a while though as indicated by the contents of the note. _'So, this is what Ruby's mom was talking about.'_ Neo thought. She set her notebook aside and stared up at the ceiling, making a soundless sigh. _'I'm such a hypocrite. Make a decision already. Stick with one or the other, and you better do it soon.'_ Neo commanded of herself.

_Four Days Later_

Neo was finally released from custody of Beacon's medical care, to her relief. She hated being stuck to that bed only for the staff to do some analysis. Now she was free, and it was a weekend too so there were no classes for her to attend to.

She got a ride on an airship to take her to the city. The first thing she wanted to do was let her parents know that she was okay in person. The journey from Beacon to her house wasn't anything special. Just a series of embarking on a couple of transportation vehicles to get to her destination.

As she arrived to her house, she wasn't surprised to find the Vale Police Department there again, probably for more meaningless questioning. She walked inside the house, ignoring the police personnel that were standing on the front porch, jotting down notes. Neo made her way deeper into her house until she found her parents sitting on a couch in the living room.

"Neo? You're here!" Vanilla got up from her seat and ran to Neo to give her daughter a great, big hug. Titian did the same, though he walked instead of running to his daughter.

"Glad to see you up and walking again. Your mother and I were very worried. To the point where your mother actually got sick because of our distress. How are feeling?" Titian and Vanilla both backed off to give their child room to write her note.

_'Feeling fine. Still can't talk though. What about you two? Are the cops questioning you both again?'_ Neo wrote.

"Oh they already questioned us about an hour ago. They are currently investigating Roman's old room for any clues." Vanilla answered.

The three were saddened just then at the reminder of Roman. Neo then wrote again in her notebook. _'Why do you think Roman is doing this? Helping the White Fang? Is it possible that he isn't helping willingly?'_

"I don't know what to think about Roman's actions. All I want is just for him to return to us. If he is doing this willingly, I just hope he learns the error of assisting that group of indecent beings." Titian admitted.

"Honey, you know that the entire group isn't filled with terrible Faunus. Some are just fighting because they want equality and fairness." Vanilla responded upon hearing her husband's view of the White Fang.

Neo looked beyond her parents to find the two dust crystals that both she and Ruby were working with were still there, untouched since that day. Neo silently walked over to the table the crystals were lying on. She gently picked up one of them and delicately rolled it in the palm of her gloved hand, recalling the time she worked on the project with Ruby. She remembered how that she was much more friendly to Ruby that day because there was no one around other her parents and Roman. She set down the crystal, deciding that she would finish the project later today for both herself and Ruby.

Neo glanced at her parents, who were still on the topic of the White Fang. Neo left her parents alone on the topic and made her way to her brother's old room, hoping the police won't question her. She walked by several members of the VPD, some of them giving her looks as if she were a criminal. She ignored the looks though and arrived to the room. She stepped to the middle of the room and looked around, seeing that the police were checking every absolute thing that existed in the room.

_'Why Roman? What reason would you have to assist the White Fang? What purpose does it serve?'_ Neo wasn't sure when she would get an answer. She would, however, search for one. She believed in her brother. How could she not? After everything they've been through together and after he saved her life? Neo wouldn't give up her brother so easily. _'There has to be a reason why Roman is doing this.'_

Neo left the police to their own vices when she left the room, walking back to the living room. She noticed that her parents were no longer there, probably dealing with the police outside instead. Neo moved to the couch and sat on it. She pulled out her scroll and texted her friends. She sent them a message asking if they were available to hangout tomorrow. In less than a time span of ten minutes, they all texted her back, all answering that they could.

Upon seeing this, Neo gently tossed her scroll to the side and on top of the couch's cushion. She moved to seat herself on the floor and scooted up to the table with the two dust crystals, beginning to resume the work that was left. She wrote down some ideas that she could do with the two dust crystals. She would continue to work on the project for the rest of the day, alongside relaxing, helping out her parents, and avoiding questioning by the cops.

_The Next Day_

Neo walked to the cafe, meeting up with her friends there. She pre-wrote some simple greetings and responses just in case and so that she wouldn't waste the time of others by taking the time to write her response. She even wrote her usual order she gets from the cafe ahead of time too to make things faster and simpler.

When she arrived at the spot, she realized she was the first one there. She walked over to the cashier and showed the employee her order. The employee nodded and displayed the price of the order on the register. Neo already had the money on hand and gave the cashier the exact amount. The worker informed her that her order would be ready soon. Neo nodded and walked over to a large table that was near the corner of the building. She sat on one of the many seats as she waited.

Not too long afterwards, Cinder and Emerald joined Neo at the table. "Hey Neo. How you feeling?" Cinder greeted.

Neo simply opened her notebook and showed it to the two girls. _'Fine. You?'_

"About the same, though I can't get Emerald here off my back because she constantly feels the need to repay me." Cinder jerked a thumb towards Emerald.

"Of course Cinder. You saved my life. Almost anyone would feel the need to repay someone for saving their life. Besides, I already know how to repay you. I just want to keep an eye on you though just in case your injury resurfaces." Emerald defended.

Cinder patted the top of Emerald's head. "Appreciate it."

Neo left her seat for a few seconds to grab her order, returning to it in a matter of seconds. Then, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Mercury, Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha showed up, taking their seats at the table too. Everyone eventually got their own orders too. The friends casually chatted amongst themselves. Neo mostly just listened in on the conversations instead of participating in them. Her friends tried to include her whenever possible though, not wanting her inability to talk make her feel left out. Neo didn't mind at all though.

"So, you guys going to the dance tomorrow?" Yang inquired as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Hell yeah. We were the ones who made the preparations for it after all." Mercury answered, referring to his team and Yang.

"Sure. Why not? Could be fun." Weiss included, taking a bite of her bagel. Everyone else except Blake nodded in approval.

"Not me. I don't have time for a dance. I have better things to attend to." Blake answered, taking a gulp of her milk.

"Awwww. Come on Blake, have a little fun!" Nora whined, seemingly enthusiastic as usual.

Blake shook her head no. "No. I can't have fun until I know the White Fang isn't a threat anymore. Besides, I already told Sun that I wouldn't go to the dance when I rejected him."

"You're no fun." Nora claimed, slouching in her chair a little and crossing her arms across her chest.

"Speaking of Sun, have any of you seen him, Jaune, Neptune, and Ruby? I haven't seen them all week." Pyrrha asked.

"Nope. Who cares though? They're probably just somewhere in the city doing whatever the hell they do together." Mercury said, eyes closed and head down, an arm resting on the table.

"It isn't normal for them to not show up to any of their classes all week. Something must have happened to them and it worries me that I don't know what it is." Pyrrha expressed.

Neo and Yang were the only ones who knew the truth. Wanting to put her friend's concern to rest though, Yang informed Pyrrha of what came of the four, everyone else listening in.

Pyrrha sighed in disappointment. "You see what you guys did to them. They left the academy for the time being because they are tired of the way they're treated. I don't blame them." She turned to Yang. "Ruby must be pretty hurt that her older sister didn't protect her. Wasn't it bad enough that you prevented her from supporting Neo?"

That caught Neo's attention. She quickly wrote in her notebook a question. _'What do you mean?'_ She showed it to Pyrrha.

Pyrrha took a look at Neo's writing. She then looked back to Yang. "You going to tell her or am I?"

Neo gave them a look that said, 'Tell me what?'

Pyrrha raised one eyebrow, providing a questioning look. Yang watched the red-haired girl with worried eyes. A few awkward seconds passed by until Yang was finally able to rip her eyes away from Pyrrha's own. "Neo, you know that day we found out your brother was with the White Fang? The questioning where Ruby and the others weren't there for you?"

Neo's eyebrows curled in confusion. Still, she slowly nodded a yes. She then grabbed her drink and took a gulp from it as she waited.

Yang bit the bottom of her lip, hesitant to tell the truth. She gripped the side of the table hard in an attempt to calm her nerves. "It was me. I told the guards to keep them out. That's why they weren't there for you."

Neo's eyes slowly widened at the confession and she almost spit out her drink. _'Wait, you mean that Ruby was telling the truth?! Damn it! I'm a freaking idiot!'_ Neo suddenly stood up from her seat, startling her friends. She wrote one word in large letters that occupied the whole page. _'WHY?'_

Yang explained her reasons to Neo. The results were that Neo was not pleased in the tiniest bit. Neo gripped her forehead with one hand, making the motion with her body as if she were breathing heavily. She flipped the page of her notebook to write her next response. _'It's not your choice to decide what happens my life you liar! How could you?! What made you think that was a good idea?!'_

Yang could only look down to her legs, her choice to respond undecided.

Neo shook her head in anger. She walked away from her friends, stomping her way to the exit.

"W-wait!" Yang called out to Neo, reaching out to the girl. The multi-colored girl already walked out of the cafe though. Everyone could see Neo walk away from the building through the windows until she disappeared out of sight.

Yang slumped in her chair, hands gripping the top of her head.

"That leaves Ruby and her friends now. I don't know about you Yang, but I would tell Ruby the truth when she comes back. It'll be better that she learns the truth from you rather than anyone else." Pyrrha suggested to the golden girl. All of their friends had no clue what to talk about the situation that unfolded in front of them, only resuming to consume their orders in silence.

**\\\\\\\\**

"Jaune, on your left!" Summer warned, fending off the Grimm that were attacking her.

Jaune heeded the warning, taking a look to his left. An Ursa was charging towards him, ready to maul. Jaune nervously stepped back a few step. "Breathe Jaune, breathe. You've done this before. You can do it again. You got this." he said to himself. He steadied himself, placing both feet firmly on to the ground covered in grass. The Ursa leapt towards Jaune, teeth ready to sink into human flesh. Jaune shouted a war cry and charged at the Ursa himself. He slid himself underneath the Ursa while it was in mid-air and performed a deep slash into its belly. The Ursa cried out in pain as it hit the ground. It struggled to get back up, but ultimately bled to death.

"Nice job Jaune!" Summer complimented giving a thumbs up. Although hidden behind his helmet, Jaune smiled, acknowledging Summer with a nod. Summer saw more Grimm approaching her. "Ooh, I'll be right back!" Summer let known.

She casually walked towards the charging Grimm. She quickly scanned the group with her eyes and picked out four creatures. Two were Beowolves, one was a Boarbatusk, and the other one was a Creep. She held her two slightly curved swords in each hand. The sword in her left hand had a red colored handle and the blade's outline was also red. The other sword in her right hand had a white handle and outline. "You four want to play huh? Well you are in luck. Grimmslayer here wants to play too." Summer taunted, informing the Grimm of her weapon's name.

The creatures did not seem to pleased, as they growled at the white-caped woman immediately afterwards. The Beowolves leapt at her, Summer easily avoiding their claws by making a huge jump to the side. The Boarbatusk then tried to run her into the ground by performing its spinning attack. Summer dodges to the side once again, the spinning Grimm crashing itself into a tree. The Creep snarled and rapidly ran towards the woman, planning to ram her onto the ground. Summer faced the threat though and smacked it to the side with the side of her white sword.

"Oh, so you four like playing rough huh? Ok then. Don't come complaining to me if you lose a limb." Summer playfully said. The Creep ran towards her again. This time, she would not let it live. The Creep tried to bash her, Summer side-stepping. As the creature passed her though, she swiftly sent her white sword upwards from underneath the creature of dark. The blade made a clean cut through the Creep's neck, the head falling off the creature as it hits the grass. A Beowolf moved to confront Summer to avenge the other creature. The tall creature swiped for Summer's head. She parried the attack, leaving the Grimm open to a counterattack. She rapidly performed a series of slashing into the Beowolf's flesh. The creature roared and retaliated by bending down and attempting to chomp on its attacker. Summer leaned her upper body to the side, narrowly avoiding becoming a Grimm's meal. She crouched and performed a spiral attack, cutting the legs off of the Beowolf. The creature scrambled on the ground, Summer ending its suffering by impaling it in the head with both swords.

Ruby ran to her mother's side. She planted her weapon on the ground and leaned against it. "Mom...do...you...need...help?" she asked in between breaths, pulling down her mask to breathe easier.

Summer smiled at her daughter. "Thanks Ruby. I've got this though. You just go assist your friends. Ok?"

"You...got...it...mom." Ruby pulled her mask back up. She lifted up her weapon and used it to propel herself towards Neptune, fearlessly charging towards Neptune's group of Grimm.

"My, my. How've much you have grown my daughter." Summer commented to herself, feeling proud of Ruby. She turned her attention back to her two remaining Grimm. They weren't happy, as usual. Summer pulled her two swords out of the dead Beowolf's head. She put the handles of the two swords together, combining them into a twinblade. The other Beowolf and the Boarbatusk approached Summer at the same time. As they reached her, Summer fended them off by swinging and spinning the twinblade all around herself, managing to only cut the Grimm and not herself. Summer debated in her head whether to use her weapon's other function, but decided against it. She stuck her weapon into the ground and used it to lift herself up and kick the Beowolf in the face. When her feet were back on the ground, she pulled out her weapon from the ground and stabbed the creature in the neck. She pulled out her weapon again and jumped over a charging Boarbatusk, impaling the monster in the back as she passed over it. Now, she was clear of Grimm.

The teenagers mopped up the rest of the remaining Grimm. Summer providing assistance whenever necessary. The group checked their surrounding to make sure there were no surprises. They sheathed their weapons when it was determined there were no more Grimm in the area.

"Ok, so that was our fourteenth group of Grimm right?" Sun asked.

"Yep. You four are doing an amazing job. There is no doubt in my mind that you'll all be great fighters against the Grimm." Summer commended.

"Thank you. To be fair though, we have a very skilled huntress with us." Jaune returned.

"Yeah." Sun turned towards Ruby. "Hey Ruby, how come you never told us how much your mother kicks ass."

"Yeah Ruby. Why haven't you told us?" Jaune joined in, taking Sun's side.

Ruby shrugged. "You guys never asked."

Sun and Jaune looked dissatisfied with Ruby's answer, though they weren't serious about it.

Summer noticed Neptune standing to the side, looking down and a closed hand pressed against his mouth. "Is there something wrong Neptune?"

"Yeah, yeah there is." Neptune said, a little muffled due to his closed hand.

"What's up Neptune?" Sun asked, arms spread out from his sides.

Neptune removed his hand from his mouth and looked up to meet the eyes of his group. "I didn't think about it at first, but now it seems irregular. I've noticed that the Grimm we've been hunting down have all been moving southeast of Vale. Every group. They are headed somewhere in the southeast."

"What's your point?" Sun asked, confused as to what his friend was talking about.

"Don't you remember what Professor Oobleck taught us? About a large amount of Grimm gathering in an area? He said that the Grimm are drawn to negative emotions. Who's the only people we know that are holding said emotions in a large amount? That and hiding themselves from the sight of the world.

"The White Fang." Jaune answered.

"Hmm. You may be right Neptune. Tell you what, let's get Sanguine to pick us up and we'll tail the next group of Grimm we find." Summer informed the group. She contacted Sanguine through a communication device.

"Hey Summer. Things go well? Need me to pick you five up now?" Sanguine said through the communication device.

"Things went just fine San. Yes, we do need a ride now. Listen, when you pick us up, we need you to follow the next group of Grimm we find. Think you can do it? We might have a possible trace on the White Fang." Summer requested.

"Not a problem Summer. I'll be there in five minutes. San out."

The group waited for Sanguine. In five minutes, he was on time and gave the five a ride. Every individual searched for a group of Grimm while they were in the air.

"There! I see more than twenty Grimm running to the southeast just like Neptune said!" Jaune pointed out the Grimm to his group.

"Good eye. San?" Summer asked.

"Already on it." Sanguine assured, adjusting his bullhead's direction.

The group stayed fairly high so that they wouldn't accidentally catch the attention of the Grimm. They tailed the beasts for several minutes until they finally saw where the Grimm were gathering. It was around a large ruin of a failed attempt of expansion for Vale.

"I know this place. I've heard of people talking about it back in the city. Wow, this place is a huge mess." Sanguine pressed a couple of buttons. "If the White Fang are here, it's best that this thing's stealth systems are active. Alright ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Mountain Glenn."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey readers! It truly warms my heart to see that this story has 80+ followers! This is truly amazing to me! I'm glad that this story is appealing to all of you. Thank you all for your support! You all are freaking awesome!**

**I won't be updating this story next week because I really need a break from story writing. That, and I have a lot of things going on with school that I need to keep up with. Sorry if this is disappointing. I just really need the break. Rest assured, after my one week break, I'll be back to provide more Cookies & Cream! Remember, I will never give on this story. It will reach its end (though it still has quite a journey to go through still :D). I'm just going to thank you all ahead of time for being patient and wonderful people. As always, thanks for reading!**

**Chapter 11**

_The Next Day_

The sun was setting for the Kingdom of Vale. Citizens of the city were doing a variety of things, ranging from working hard at their jobs to returning home to reunite with families or going out to spend time with friends and family. The city of Vale was at peace, many of its denizens forgetting that there were terrible beasts living outside the walls.

As for the students of Beacon Academy, many of them were readying themselves or were already on their way to the dance. Couples linked arms as they walked towards the building that the dance was being held in and friends laughed together as they did the same.

Inside the building, Yang, Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, Weiss, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora were standing by the entrances, greeting everyone who entered. In a matter of two minutes, the building went from eight occupants to a large party. Everyone found seats to sit at, enjoyed the provided food and drinks, and danced on the main floor to the music that was being played. It wasn't long before the initial eight enjoyed the fun. Though Yang didn't enjoy it as much due to the guilt that was weighing on her. She had caused Neo to not come to the dance that she helped host. That, and interfering with her half-sister's interests. She sat down on a chair, looking down on the floor.

Yang hates herself right now. She mentally scolded herself for a while until she noticed a pair of jewel-encrusted boots walk up to her.

"Nice dance you're hosting here. I don't get why you're looking so glum." the owner of the boots said. It was a feminine voice.

Yang looked up, surprised to see who it was. "Coco?"

"I believe that's the name I was born with, yes." Coco offered Yang a small smile.

Yang stood up from her seat and hugged the girl. "You made it! I guess that means you and your team completed your mission."

The two girls broke the hug. "Yep. Those Grimm are annoying bastards. It feels so good to be back with society." Coco spread her arms out to her sides as if she were absorbing the essence of the world around her. She let her arms down after a few seconds. "So, where's the rest of our friends? And why were you looking so sad?"

"Our friends are enjoying themselves somewhere in this building. The reason why I was sad is because I screwed up." Yang answered.

"Screwed up? What do you mean?" Coco asked, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I don't really want to talk about it. Let's just say that Neo isn't here because she's angry at me and Ruby and her friends aren't here because I...well, me and a lot of others...errr...uh...make things hard for them." Yang said.

Coco slightly nodded her head in understanding. "I see. Well, let's try to get your mind off of it for now. Right now, you're standing in a dance that you should be enjoying. You should hang out with me and my team." Coco offered.

Yang took the offer into consideration. Coco was right. She should be enjoying the night. She could think about how she can make things right with Ruby and Neo tomorrow. "Ok Coco. I'll join you."

"Awesome. Follow me, my team should be around where I left them." Coco gestured Yang to follow her.

Meanwhile, Mercury was grabbing a drink from the punch bowl alongside Pyrrha.

"I miss those four. They would have loved to come to the dance." Pyrrha said.

"You care about them too much." Mercury stated as he filled his cup with fruit punch.

"And you disrespect them too much." Pyrrha rebuked, doing the same as Mercury.

Mercury took a sip of his cup before responding. "Maybe if they weren't such losers, things would be different."

"So who they are is considered losers to you? That's not justifiable! They can't help who they are and how they're like. Still, they shouldn't have to be ashamed of how they are like just because people think differently of them." Pyrrha argued.

Mercury appeared annoyed by the conversation. "If you're going to defend them so much, why don't you join them?"

Pyrrha leaned on one leg and placed a hand on her waist. "You know what? I think I will. I'm going to defend who they are."

Mercury looked concerned now. "Heh. You're not serious are you?"

"Oh, I'm serious." Pyrrha scoffed. "There is no way I'm hanging out with self-centered people like you any longer." She walked away from Mercury, nose in the air.

Mercury watched the red-haired girl walk away from him in disbelief. He just stood there, cup in hand and a slightly open mouth. He shook his head to shake himself out of his disbelief. He ran a hand through his hair and held it in place. He couldn't believe Pyrrha had actually turned her back on him. They had been good friends back in Sanctum. When he went to Beacon along with Cinder, Emerald, and Neo, he was surprised to find that Pyrrha had also been invited to Beacon. They've maintained their friendship since then, but now it was faltering. Something Mercury wasn't comfortable with. He finished his drink and threw his cup away. He then proceeded to take a walk around the interior of the building, reevaluating things.

**\\\\\\\\**

_An Hour Later_

Outside the building in which the dance was being held in, a figure clad in all white stood on the rooftop of a few buildings nearby. She stood there, the moon's reflecting light illuminating her attire, but not so much that it made her noticeable. She waited, listening for her inside assets to give her the go ahead. She watched the academy students come and go from the building. The figure observed each and every one, trying to kill the boredom. She had been waiting since the dance started for her to proceed with her mission. She would finally be excited when she heard something on her communication device.

"Hey Alpha, you're clear to proceed with the mission. The headmaster of the academy and the general of the Atlesian forces are preoccupied. The students are all distracted with the dance." Alpha's inside asset informed her.

Alpha smirked underneath her mask. She proceeded to jump across the rooftops, making her way to the Cross Continental Transit communication center. It took her a couple of minutes to reach the building, but when she did, she took cover behind a wall. She observed the guard that was guarding the entrance of the building. The Atlesian guard was alone and wasn't completely focused. Alpha took the opportunity to sneak around, the guard completely oblivious to the infiltrator's presence. Alpha snuck up behind the guard, smacking him hard on the back of the head to knock him out. She then tossed the unconscious body into a nearby bush before heading inside.

Entering through the front door, Alpha saw that there was an Atlesian guard and a team of Beacon students stood around the center of the building. She silently walked towards them.

"Sorry kids, but I'll tell you again, you can't access the communication system right now. It is closed off for now." the guard said to the four students.

The four students composed of one male wearing white and black clothing. The second was a female wearing black attire. The third was a male and had dark grey apparel. The fourth was a female that wore light grey attire. Alpha noted that they were in combat armor and that they were fully masked too.

"Aww. That sucks." the one wearing black attire complained, folding her arms across her chest.

"Maybe tomorrow Licorice. We are just wasting both our time and the guard's." the one wearing white and black clothes responded.

The guard noticed Alpha walking towards them. "Are you another academy student? Sorry miss, but I just finished telling these four that the place is closed. Team...uh...team...what was it again?"

"Team SLVR. You know, like silver." the third student remarked.

Alpha still walked towards them. "Did you not hear me miss? I said the place is closed." the guard repeated. He placed a hand on the holster of his stun gun when Alpha didn't respond and still walked towards them.

"Is there something wrong?" the teenager wearing black and white asked, walking a bit towards Alpha.

"Miss stop!" the guard demanded, about to pull his stun gun out.

Before the guard could act, Alpha pulled out a silenced pistol from its holster hidden underneath her cape. She shot the guard underneath the shoulder. The guard yelled out in pain and fell backwards.

The four students were shocked. The one who walked towards her reached for his weapon. Before he could bring it out though, Alpha assaulted him with a series of kicks to the head and then tossing him towards the girl named Licorice with full force. The two fell down, unconscious. The remaining two unsheathed their weapons, one holding a spear and the other wielding two scimitars. The two ran towards Alpha. The white clad girl transformed her pistol into a dagger in response.

Alpha knew the two were unprepared as they did not expect an attack on the night of the dance. To her, the two students would be a minor inconvenience. The one with a spear thrusted the weapon towards her. She took a large leap backwards and then another when the spear extended outwards after the initial attack. Alpha then ran towards the spear wielder, pushing the spear aside. When she was within melee range, she performed a sweeping kick, knocking the student off of his feet. Before Alpha could do anything to the downed student, the other one with scimitars attacked her. She dodged many swipes and parried a few with her dagger. She ducked underneath an overhead slash and countered by kicking the student in the shin, causing the student to fall forward on her masked face. The student was about to push herself up, but was knocked out when Alpha kicked her to the side of the head. She proceeded to do the same to the spear wielder.

Alpha scanned her surroundings for anyone else. Once she was sure it was clear, she proceeded to enter the elevator, making her way up to the comm room. She hummed like an innocent girl as she waited. When the doors opened up to her, she runs into the room and to the control consoles. She pulls out a device from her pocket and plugs it into the console. She gains control of the system, proceeding to type on the holographic keyboard and uploading something to the system. She watched the progress bar quickly move across the screen. Her objective was complete. She accessed her communication device and called her leader.

**\\\\\\\\**

"And be sure to have the cargo loaded onto the train by tomorrow! We have a lot preparations to go through before we take action!" Roman relayed to his force of White Fang members.

The Faunus quickly got to work, following Roman's exact orders. They disliked obeying orders to a human and disliked it even more that they were hiding underneath Mountain Glenn. The underground city was a complete dump and served as an inadequate outpost. However, if it meant that it would lead to overthrowing the human government, they were willing to put up with the conditions.

Roman kept an eye on the Faunus, making sure everyone was working hard. His communication device vibrated. He grabbed it from the pocket of his white coat and answered. "What is it?"

"We now have access to the communication tower." Alpha notified Roman on the other end of the call.

Roman smirked followed by a mischievous chuckle. "Great. That's great. Now, we can make an example when we get the chance. Good work Alpha. Continue to anonymously observe the people of the academy. I'll let you know when I have a new mission for you."

"Yes sir. I think I'll go enjoy myself a dance in the meantime. Keep me posted." Alpha ended the call.

Roman nodded. The plan was going great so far. He grabbed a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. He placed the item in between his lips as he pocketed his lighter. He walked alongside the stationary train that was loaded with bombs and cargo. He observed the interior of each railcar he passed by, seeing either just loads of equipment, bombs, or Faunus in each one. It was until he found the railcar he was looking for did he stop walking alongside the train. He hopped into the railcar and walked over the table that was within it.

The table had a map of the entirety of Vale on it. It was heavily marked though, red dots marked throughout the city and the city walls surrounded by red circles. Roman smiled. The plan was coming together. His smile faded though when he remembered his meeting with his superiors earlier during the day. He gritted his teeth and slammed his hands on top of the table. He ripped his cigarette away from his mouth and threw it on the floor of the railcar, stepping on it afterwards. As much as he knew his superiors were right and knew what action to take, he still despised them. They had promised him that his sister wouldn't find out that he was associated with the White Fang. When that failed to uphold, they promised him that his sister and family wouldn't get hurt. A few days later, he finds out that Alpha had slit Neo's throat. Roman lashed out on Alpha over it not too long after. Alpha talked Roman down though and claimed that she was ordered to kill any intruders in the skyscraper by their superiors and that she didn't know that was his sister. Alpha apologized as much as she could. Roman gave the girl a pass, but still resented her for hurting his sister.

"Hey boss! Found something you might want to see!" someone yelled out from outside the railcar. Roman recognized the person's voice as Perry.

Roman took a deep breath before answering. "Is it good or bad, Perry? Because let me tell ya, I have had a day."

"Uh, it's a little girl?" Perry answered, unsure if it was good or bad.

_'A little girl?'_ Roman questioned in his head. He leans out through the doorway and spots and all too familiar individual. _'Ruby.'_ he identified the girl. "That would be bad." He jumped down from the railcar and walked up to the captured girl. He wrapped one hand around Ruby's neck. "How'd you find us?"

Ruby gasped, shocked to find Roman here. "Roman!? I-I thought we captured you?! We handed you to the Atlas Military!"

Roman smirked at the girl. "I still got some friends at the academy and in the Atlas Military who pulled a few strings for me. It wasn't easy, but they pulled through for me. Now those friends are truly loyal ones."

Ruby made a note in her head that there were traitors lurking around at the academy. She grunted as she tried to free herself from her captors.

"You fellas go on and continue your work. I'll keep our guest here company." Roman gestured the two Faunus holding Ruby to release the girl. When they followed his orders, Roman forcefully dragged Ruby into the railcar he was in previously and shut the railcar's door. "You made a big mistake coming here Ruby. Though I must say, your new additions to your outfit is quite exquisite." Roman sarcastically remarked.

"I-I-I still don't understand why you're doing this. You say you're doing this because you want to grant the White Fang equality. There has to be more to that. You wouldn't do this to Neo would you? I mean, the people you're working with, they hurt her." Ruby said.

Roman sighed, looking down to his shoes. "I know, I know. I never wanted her to find out I was doing this." Roman placed his sights back on the vulnerable girl. "Ruby, you still care for my sister right? You still hold feelings for her?"

Ruby had a puzzled look. She didn't know where Roman was taking the conversation. Regardless, she answered. "Y-yeah. Of...of course I do."

"Then you don't wish her to be harmed? You wish her to be safe?" Roman further questioned. Ruby nodded her head yes. "Good. If you truly care for her..." Roman walked closer to Ruby, causing the young girl to back up against the wall. Roman stopped about two meters away from Ruby. "...then you'll get her to join me and the White Fang."

"Wait, what? You want me to tell her to join you and the White Fang?" Ruby asked, wanting to confirm what she thought she heard.

"It doesn't have to be just her. You and your comrades can join us too. To help us overthrow the corrupt. We don't have to be enemies Ruby. Our true enemies are your leaders. Think about it, we can build a better government after we rid the kingdom of its corrupt one. That and you, your friends, the people you are close with, Neo, all of you will be safe. All you have to do is get Neo to join us. I can assure you that we will not betray you." Roman explained to Ruby. "What do you say Ruby? Let's take down the true enemies together."

"That sounds noble Roman. I would love to remove the corrupt from this world." Ruby answered, causing a smile to grow on Roman's face. "The thing is though, my leaders aren't the enemy or the corrupt. It's your leaders who are. I won't fight for the corrupt. Neither will Neo."

Roman's smile quickly disappeared and turned into a look of outrage. He grabbed Ruby by the neck with both hands and harshly shoved her against the wall, slightly choking her. "I give you a chance to secure safety for you, your friends, and Neo, and you deny it?!" Roman pulled Ruby forward and then slammed her against the wall. "You made a mistake. You know Ruby, remember when we first met? When I told you about those people who had a crush on her? Well, you're just like them. You don't deserve Neo!" Roman dragged Ruby over to the railcar's door and opened it. He hops down along with Ruby and throws her across the floor. Roman laughed. "Wow! You are much more manageable without that over-sized gardening tool of yours.

Ruby makes a 'grrrr' sound. She gets up and charges at Roman, which he simply sidesteps, sending Ruby stumbling across the floor.

Roman continues to laugh. He looks over to Perry, who was nearby watching the event unfold. "Oh man. You know, Perry, I really did need this." Roman said to the Faunus. Perry gave a thumbs up in agreement. Roman walks over to Ruby and aims his Melodic Cudgel at her. "Tell me red, how'd you find this place? I won't be so pleasant if you give me an answer I don't like."

Ruby growls and then uses her Semblance to escape Roman and start running for an exit. Roman then smiles, spins Melodic Cudgel in his hands and aims the handle at Ruby. He then fires the handle, which doubles as a grappling hook, at Ruby, catching her by her hood and allowing Roman to pull her back.

"I see you have some tricks up your sleeve! Let me make this clear: we're not through here yet." Roman threatened. A massive explosion erupts inside the hideout, causing Roman to look up. "Oh, what the...Perry, if you and the boys could take care of that? Kinda in the middle of something." Perry nods and goes off to investigate the explosion just as another one sounds. "What is going on here?!" Roman complained, obviously annoyed.

A third explosion erupts and multiple White Fang members come running around the corner, some firing back at where they came from. Summer, Sun, Neptune, Jaune, and Sanguine run around the same corner. With Roman distracted by the new arrivals, Ruby decides to take a chance and attempt escape, jumping on Roman's shoulders, then fleeing towards her friends and mother.

Roman fixes his hat and sees Ruby running away. "Somebody kill her!" he orders. He and his group of White Fang open fire on Ruby. The girl manages to dodge the projectiles though. Roman turns angrily to the White Fang member next to him. "Attach this cart and spread the word: we're starting the train."

The White Fang member looks flabbergasted. "But we're not finished!"

Roman pins the White Fang member up against the wall with Melodic Cudgel. "Do it or you're finished! And get Tarkus and Ruvik to meet me at the front of the train!" Roman threatened and ordered. He removes his weapon and proceeds to run to the front of the train.

Summer smacks a few White Fang members out of the way to reunite with her daughter. "Ruby!" she yells out in joy as her daughter jumps into her arms.

"Ruby, are you okay?" Sun asked, Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in each hand.

Summer set her daughter down and handed her Crescent Rose. Ruby extends her weapon into its gun form. "I probably have a few bruises, but I'm fine. Thanks for the rescue. Roman is here though, and he has a lot of cargo loaded on the train."

"Wait, Roman is here? I thought we captured him?" Neptune inquired.

"We did, but there are traitors back in the academy. I don't know who they are, but they are there. We need to deal with that later though. Right now, we need to stop Roman!" Ruby informed her group.

Sanguine fires a few rounds of his rifle from his crouched position at the White Fang. He then lowered his weapon. "Uh, you mean that train?" Sanguine pointed at the train that was starting to move.

"We need to stop that train!" Ruby shouted to her group.

"You five go. I'll provide you cover. Then I'll head back up to the surface and get the bullhead." Sanguine advised.

"Thanks San. You heard him. Let's go." Summer said. She and the four teenagers ran for the train while Sanguine gave them cover, firing at the White Fang.

**\\\\\\\\**

Roman was breathing heavily through his nose, aggravated at the turn of events. Not only did he stupidly tell Ruby that he had inside assets at Beacon, the plans were being set back thanks to the teenagers. He slammed his hand against the wall multiple times, forming a dent.

"You called for us boss?" Tarkus answered with a deep voice as both he and Ruvik entered the room. Tarkus was completely covered in dark-colored steel armor. His armor was largely shaped to compensate for his tall and muscular form. Ruvik on the other hand was completely covered in light brown-colored leather armor. His helmet possessed many small tusks collected from Grimm. He was much thinner than Tarkus, but was just a head short of Tarkus's height.

"Yeah I did. I know our guests are on board this train. I want you two to slow them down." Roman commanded.

"Slow them down? Not kill them?" Ruvik asked, wanting to know the full details.

"Yes, don't kill them, but make it look believable. Things won't end well for us. We're going to end up captured. It won't help us if we kill them. It'll make us look even worse. My assets will pull through for us like they did for me. Don't worry, we will make an example of our guests if they don't oblige to an agreement I proposed to one of them. All in due time. When we escape custody, we'll head to Outpost Rock." Roman explained.

"Yes sir!" both Ruvik and Tarkus answered simultaneously. They then proceeded to exit to go and confront the intruders.

Roman watched his two personal guards exit the railcar. When they left his sight, Roman proceeded to destroy vital intel that could be used against the White Fang. He knew they were going to be captured. He knew his inside assets would get them out before the Atlesian Military root them out. It was a fallback plan just in case things went wrong. Roman sighed. "All part of the plan."

**\\\\\\\\**

The group sprinted from railcar to railcar, closing in on the front of the train. They stopped their progress through when they encountered two men waiting for them. The large one wielded a greatsword and a greatshield. The other man wielded two sickles.

"Jaune, Ruby, you two go on ahead and stop the train. Sun, Neptune, and I will handle these two." Summer ordered.

Jaune and Ruby charge forward. Tarkus raises his greatsword, ready to strike down the two charging Beacon students. Before he could, Summer jumps forward and deflects the attack as the two students run around him. Sun runs up to him and delivers multiple strikes at Tarkus, knocking him down. Ruvik swipes for Sun with one sickle. Neptune catches the sickle's blade in between his weapon's trident form. Summer then kicks Ruvik back and up against the wall.

Tarkus stood back up, chuckling menacingly. "This will be fun. Don't you think so Ruvik?"

"Indeed Tarkus. I find this quite an opportunity." Ruvik responded as he pushed his back off against the wall.

Summer, Sun, and Neptune readied their weapons. Then the team of three and the team of two charged at each other, all screaming out a war cry and weapons raised.

**\\\\\\\\**

Ruby and Jaune ran through multiple railcars until they finally reached the front. Roman was standing by the driver of train, facing towards the two trainees as if he were expecting them.

"Ah Ruby, nice of you to join us. And you brought a friend. Isn't that great? You know red, my offer still stands." Roman greeted.

"Still not accepting it." Ruby answered immediately.

"That's a shame. Oh well, your loss." Roman grabbed his weapon and walked towards the two, his body language indicating that he had intentions to do harm.

"Remember what my mom taught us." Ruby whispered to Jaune. Jaune hummed to acknowledge Ruby, eyes never leaving sight of Roman.

Ruby uses her Semblance to appear fairly close to Roman, running towards him the rest of the way. Roman is about to strikes Ruby, but Jaune steps in and parries him. With Roman vulnerable, Ruby launches herself with her weapon towards Roman, smacking Roman and propelling him into the air. Jaune jumps up and delivers some midair strikes to knock him down, then lands in a fighting stance.

Roman stands up and fires a blast from the Melodic Cudgel towards Jaune. Ruby hops in front of Jaune and spins her weapon to block the blow. She launches herself overhead and prepares to strike Roman, only to feint and launch herself back from Roman's counter attack. Roman then blocks a flurry of attacks from Jaune when he ran up to him. Roman tries to strike Jaune with an overhead blow, but he dodges back and swings his sword downward, keeping Roman's weapon trapped on the floor.

"Ruby, now!" Jaune said, struggling to keep Roman from freeing his weapon. As Roman tries to punch Jaune, Ruby propels herself towards Roman and smacks him once again. Roman is launched onto the back of the train driver, causing the driver to smack his head against the control console and rendering him unconscious. Roman falls to the floor and attempts to get back up, but Jaune prevents him by stepping on his chest and holds his blade to Roman's face.

Roman only chuckled though. "Alright, you win, for now. Just remember Ruby about my offer. Consider it when you turn us in."

"Enough of that already!" Ruby yelled in anger and kicks Roman to the side of the head, knocking him out.

"What offer?" Jaune questioned, sheathing his sword.

"I'll tell you later. Let's just stop this train." Ruby responded. The two shook the driver awake and forced him to stop the train before securing both him and Roman. Summer, Neptune, and Sun walked into the room, dragging both an unconscious Tarkus and Ruvik. Ruby pulled out her scroll and contacted Sanguine.

"Hey Ruby, you five okay?" Sanguine asked.

"Yeah, we're fine. Do you have our location?" Ruby asked, watching her group gather their captured enemies.

"I do. I'm tracking your scroll." Sanguine answered.

"Good. We need a ride back to the academy. We have captured enemies of the kingdom and learned that there are traitors in the academy. It's best we return." Ruby said.

Sanguine hummed in agreement. "Ok Ruby. On my way. Back to Beacon it is."

At the mention of returning to Beacon, Ruby's thoughts immediately thought of one thing, or specifically, one girl. _'Neo.'_


End file.
